This is the Life of a Ninja
by xanimexmangaxlover
Summary: Hyuga Kori, Saizo Kai, and Tsukara Toshizo each have their own dreams and aspirations as genin. Ninja life is not as easy as they thought it might be. They have to work hard under their teacher Hikawa Asahina, who just happens to have a strange friendship with Hatake Kakashi. OCxKakashi, eventual OCxGaara and OCxKiba. Follows the manga storyline.
1. Finally Genin

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

**So I'm trying to keep the characters call in character as much as possible but in a romance that may not be possible the whole time. So warning, may contain OOC-ness.**

The Hyuga Clan is one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure. The clan is separated into two branches, the Soke (main branch) and the Bunke (side branch). The main branch runs the family and upholds the kekkei genkai, Byakugan. The second branch protects the members of the main branch and keeps the secrets of the Byakugan protected. From the minute one is born, their destiny is determined. For those born into the side branch, life is predetermined. Hyuga Kori now faces the challenges of the Bunke as a full-fledged Genin-level ninja.

The Saizo Clan is a powerful clan of Konohagakure. They're known for their powerful lightning style ninjutsu and speedy attacks. During the Third Shinobi War, the Saizo Clan's ultimate ninjutsu became famous for its destructive capability and deadly cost. The Clan leader at the time was forever remembered as one who made the ultimate sacrifice for the village. Saizo Kai now joins the work force as a Genin-level Shinobi.

The Tsukara Clan is famous for their swordplay and forging skills. Their weapons are sold at high prices for their extended lifespan and beautiful design. There are very few who chose to become ninjas over blacksmiths in the Tsukara Clan though many dream of it as children. Tsukara Toshizo is among the few kids who joined the academy and is now, finally, a Genin-level Shinobi.

"Sasuke! I want to sit next to Sasuke!" Girls shrieked from the academy door.

Kori rubbed her ear in annoyance and pulled Hinata through the mob of girls and into the classroom, "Hinata-sama, today is our last day in here."

Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably, her eyes fluttering between the desk and Naruto, "Y-You're right."

"Hmm… What is he doing here? Didn't he fail…? And isn't he usually late…" Kori was able to recognize a few other faces in class. Moreover, she recognized the voices of Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, who never seemed to stop arguing about who was going to sit next to Sasuke. She still remembered that the two had grown their hair out after hearing a rumor that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Sakura's pink hair reached her upper back but could still be considered long. Ino, on the other hand, was more successful and although she kept her hair tied up in a high ponytail it still reached her mid-back. Kori fiddled with the strands of her own dark blue hair and rolled her eyes. She had almost cut her hair when she found out that Sasuke liked girls with long hair but she couldn't bear to part with it so she left it. She didn't have anything against the guy but she didn't want to be counted as one of his rabid fangirls. She reached up and tied it into a high ponytail but left her bangs covering her forehead and tied her forehead protector onto her head.

Kai sat in the front corner of the room but he turned around in an amused way when Sakura and Ino screamed about arriving before the other. The other girl's joined in, "I got here before both of you so I'll sit next to him."

Kai didn't really have an opinion about how attractive the guy was but he disliked the quick comparisons the girls made between the males of the class. The traditional silvery blonde hair of the Saizo Clan was a great contrast to the raven black hair of the Uchiha Clan. The girls went crazy over a guy who seemed to have no warm emotions but Kai wasn't one to talk. He didn't exactly treat girls kindly either. The Saizo Clan had their own ideas about love and marriage so he couldn't really be a player or crush on a girl. He didn't really know much about turning down a girl but he wasn't clueless. In Kai's opinion, if Sasuke really didn't like the attention he would just tell them to go away or at least say they were annoying. Or maybe Sasuke was lazy and didn't feel like telling anyone off. In any case, the girls were fast to realize that Sasuke was the nicer of the two. Rumors had spread about him after he rejected a few girls. He didn't really count but a few girls had confessed to him and he had immediately shot them down. He was the number one heartbreaker in the class and it was unfair. If Sasuke was that popular why was Kai the number one heartbreaker? Did they never confess to him? Was he too far out of their league for them to try? He would probably never know but he could care less about that.

Toshizo wasn't really a popular guy but he wanted to be. Toshi wasn't really a smart or talented guy but he had graduated and that was good enough for him. There were thirty people in their graduating class and he didn't dare compare himself to the top people in the class but he wasn't bad either. Uchiha Sasuke and Saizo Kai were the top two scores, in that order, and he was average compared to that. Number seventeen out of thirty was a good spot. The girls probably wouldn't say so but he thought so and that was good enough for him. Toshizo sat in the back of the classroom and found some amusement in watching Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke proceed with their glaring contest. He burst out laughing when the two accidentally locked lips. The girls proceeded to pummel the blonde haired boy, leaving Sasuke unharmed. Iruka, who had finally decided to wander, in had to rip them apart, "Sit down!"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Today is your last day at this academy!" Iruka congratulated them, "I'm very proud of you all. You will be assigned in three-man squads as official Genin. Each squad will be led by an elite ninja, a Jonin. We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. So that's how we set them up."

Kai sighed and crossed his fingers to pray for his group to be all male. Iruka read continued to read, eliminating a few of the girls, "Team 7! Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura! Uchiha Sasuke!"

Toshizo held in a laugh at the various reactions of the three themselves and then at the groans that escaped the lips of the many females in the classroom. Iruka continued, "Team 8! Hyuga Hinata! Inuzuka Kiba! Aburame Shino!"

Kori smiled, "Hinata-sama. That means Akamaru is in your group too."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the smirk on the girl's face, "Akamaru? Kiba-kun is less important?"

"Obviously."

"Team 9! Tsukara Toshizo! Hyuga Kori! And Saizo Kai!"

Kori pulled the hood of her black sweater over her head and ignored the glares of the many females in the room, "Jeez… Why Saizo?"

Toshizo frowned. Both Kori and Kai were pretty much geniuses compared to him. He hoped that he didn't weigh them down too much. Kai groaned, "Hyuga? Just my luck."

"Team 10! Yamanaka Ino! Nara Shikamaru! Akimichi Choji! And that's all the squads."

Upon hearing those words, Naruto jumped up, "Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be paired with a loser like Sasuke?!"

"Sasuke was the highest score in the class! You were the lowest! To create a balanced group we had to pair you guys together!" Iruka scolded, "Anyways, that is all for today so you'll meet your new instructors after lunch. Return here after lunch."

Kori sighed, "It doesn't feel like our last day here. Hinata-sama, will you be returning home for lunch?"

"U-Ummm… I'm not sure." The girl stuttered.

"She won't." Kiba sat on the corner of the desk beside Kori, "Hinata, I'm in your squad so let's have lunch together before we meet the teacher. Shino's coming too."

"O-Okay."

"And how about you?"

"No thanks." Kori replied.

"Ehhh…. You're cold now that we graduated, Number Five-san."

"Huh?" She slapped his hand away when he tried to remove her hood, "Why are you bringing my score into this?"

"You think you're too good to hang out with me and Akamaru now?" Kiba smirked when he caught Toshizo's eye, "Ohh…. So that's how it is?"

"Why are you so stupid?"

"Kori…. -san? Uhh… I know we never really talked before but… I'm Tsukara Toshizo, just call me Toshi." For the first time, Toshizo realized that the girl had the traditional Hyuga eyes. He should've recognized that long ago but he had never really looked at her from this close. Compared to his deep purple eyes, hers were much less colorful.

"I'm Hyuga Kori, but I guess you knew that." Kori scanned the boy quickly. He was a pretty normal boy. His short dark brown hair hung just slightly passed his ears. He wore his forehead protecter across his forehead. He wore a black t-shirt with the Tsukara Clan's crimson hammer on the back and light brown shorts. His kunai holder was tied to his right thigh and he wore his shuriken pouch on his left. The standard dark blue tabi covered a majority of his feet.

"I was wondering if you would like to eat lunch with me… You know… To get to know each other since I've never talked to you before." Toshizo felt his eyebrow twitch once, nervously. He couldn't tell what the girl was looking at since she didn't really have visible pupils.

"Alright." She finally answered.

"Let's invite Kai-san too." Toshi bounced down to grab the less friendly boy.

Kai and Kori were quick to scan each other. Kai immediately disliked how he couldn't tell what the girl was thinking, more importantly, he couldn't tell what she was looking at. He had never actually looked at her so he couldn't even remember what she looked like. Actually, he couldn't really describe any of the girls in his class so it wasn't really a bad thing that he didn't know what she looked like. She had her hood up so he couldn't see anything more than her face. Her pale skin and white eyes contrasted with the dark color of her jacket. A few strands of dark blue hair framed her face. As if she knew he was trying to memorize what she looked like, she stood up and pulled down her hood. Her dark blue hair was tied into a high ponytail and seemed to reach her upper back. She wore dark blue shorts that reached her mid-thighs, she wore her kunai holder on the right side but carried no pouch. She wore dark blue tabi without any socks like most shinobi. Her appearance wasn't exaggerated and appeared fairly modest compared to the other girls in the class, although not as modest as Hinata.

Kai frowned when he realized that she was taking him in as well but she had seen him plenty of times already so she didn't really have to look hard to know that he was wearing a black, fitted, long-sleeved shirt with his clan's symbol, the white lightning bolt, on the back and white shorts. His silvery blonde chin-length hair framed his face but stood up in the back as if it were hit by lightning. Kori smirked at the possibility of it being extremely bad bedhead and couldn't stop smirking after comparing it to Sasuke's hair. The style was similar except, Sasuke's hair didn't completely stand up in the back, only a portion of it did. Kai cringed uncomfortably under the girl's stare and put his hand to his forehead protector.

Toshizo finally cleared his throat, "Umm… So let's eat. If you'd like we can go to my house, my mom is a good cook."

Kori smiled, "If it's not too much trouble for her."

"No trouble at all." Toshizo managed to catch the troubled look on Kai's face as he led the group down the dirt road, "Is there something wrong Kai-san?"

"Uh… no…" He walked comfortably beside them but he seemed to dislike something about the group.

An awkward silence fell over the group. Toshizo laughed nervously as he opened the door for his new teammates, "This is it."

Kai stiffly walked through the door at the sound of a female voice. Toshizo's mother was a pretty woman. She didn't wear a headband, announcing that she wasn't a ninja, "Oh, Toshi. You brought friends today? Come on in."

Kori bowed slightly and followed the boy's lead, "I'm Hyuga Kori. It's a pleasure to meet you."

When the lady turned to Kai, he managed to calmly speak, "Saizo Kai."

The woman seated them around the dinner table and set plates of food in front of them, "Eat as much as you'd like. I'll be outside in the garden so call if you need anything."

Toshizo smiled, "The house is a little messy, does it bother you guys?"

"Not at all." Kori answered quickly, "It's quite nice. Compared to my house, this is a nice feeling."

"Really? And you Kai-san?"

"My house is empty."

"Hmm… Then it must be big."

"Not compared to the Hyuga's place."

Kori lifted an eyebrow when Toshi turned to her, "I live in a separate building."

"Eh? Than who?"

"Than Hinata-sama. I live in a smaller compound."

Toshizo continued to look confused, "You live in a separate compound from your sister?"

"She's my cousin. I don't have a sister."

"What?" Kai's eyes snapped to the girl's face, "Then you're Neji's sister?"

She nodded, "You know him?"

"Not personally. I was just confused, since you don't have a seal…" Kai gestured to his forehead with his chopsticks, "Or do you have to wait until you get it?"

Toshizo's eyes widened in realization, "Ohh… The Hyuga Clan has that ritual where the members of the main branch seal members of the side branch."

Kori nodded, "So?"

Neither boy dared to ask why she didn't have one. Kai shrugged, "I guess it's better that way."

Toshizo put the dishes in the sink when they were done and the trio said their thank you's to Toshizo's mother before returning to the academy in a much more comfortable silence. The three sat together in the corner of the room and waited. Shikamaru's group was the first to leave followed by Hinata's group. Iruka sweat dropped as the time passed, "Well, your teachers will show up so… I have to go now. Wait here patiently, kids."

Kori frowned, "At least we're not the only group."

"Don't jinx us." Toshizo whined.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura still remained in the classroom with their group. Suddenly, Naruto let out a frustrated growl and snatched an eraser from the chalkboard, "This'll show him."

Toshizo laughed as Naruto wedged the eraser into the top of the door so that it would fall if someone opened the door. Sakura rolled her eyes, "Like he would fall for that. He's a jonin, you know."

She jinxed him. Just then, a man with greyish white hair walked through the door. He was a fair-skinned, fit, and relatively tall shinobi. His spiky white hair flattened slightly as the eraser fell onto his head. The only skin the man was showing was the slight amount of skin around his right eye. His lower face was covered with a tight cloth mask and his forehead protector was worn sideways to cover one of his eyes. A feminine laugh filled the room, "Kakashi… I told you they would try something if we came this late."

"Asahina… Don't laugh at me." He didn't really seem bothered by the young woman's continuing laughter, "How should I put this… My first impression of this group… You guys are a bunch of idiots."

Kai's eyebrow twitched, "Which one is our teacher?"

"Kai-kun, right?" The woman still seemed cheerful, "I'm Squad 9's teacher. Come right this way!"

Toshizo waved to the rest of the Genin right up until he was out the door. The woman led the group out to the playground where she sat in a swing and motioned for the kids to sit on the bench across from her. Kori was fast with her eyes and although the woman's hair flipped up for only a second, she saw the scar on the woman's neck. The woman pulled her turtleneck up with a smile, pulling her long crimson-red hair to cover both sides of her neck. Kori's eyebrow twitched when Toshizo whispered to her, "What if she's not wearing anything under her flak jacket?"

That was a possibility but she was probably wearing a sleeveless turtleneck underneath her traditional, jonin flak jacket and training pants. Her dark brown eyes were twinkling with amusement, "Let's take some time to get to know each other. I'm Hikawa Asahina! I like dango and I hate it when Kakashi reads that stupid book. My goal is to get Kakashi to stop reading that book."

The three genin exchanged nervous glances. Was it just them or did the teacher's expression get darker every time she mentioned Kakashi? The woman laughed, "And my hobby is to destroy Kakashi's books! You there! In the middle, you start."

Toshizo gasped, "I'm Tsukara Toshizo. I like playing video games and I hate getting burned. I don't really have a goal but my hobby is forging."

"No goals? That's terrible." Asahina shook her head, "You! Your turn."

"I'm Hyuga Kori. I like cats and dogs and I hate bugs. My goal is to… None of your business. My hobby is training with my brother."

"Hmm… You're a cold person." Asahina pouted, "You! You're the last one."

"I'm Saizo Kai. I like taking walks and I hate strong perfume. My goal is to take over as the head of my clan someday. My hobby is cloud watching."

"That's unexpected…" Asahina blinked a few times, "Cloud watching? Okay… Then we'll meet tomorrow at the training grounds with the three log posts at eleven. Our first exercise is a survival exercise, so don't eat breakfast unless you want to puke it all out! That's all! See you all tomorrow."


	2. Squad Nine

**_Disclaimer:_**** I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

"Kakashi!" Asahina screamed, "What are you doing here?!"

Kakashi seemed to be a very aloof character, "Survival exam."

Kori wasn't surprised to see Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura there with him. Asahina was extremely displeased, "I told you that I was going to use this spot. Get out of here!"

"Let's share." Kakashi didn't really seem to be asking.

"Why would I do that?"

"Conduct our exam together?" Kakashi suggested, "It'll be fun."

"Uhh… No."

"Bell test." Kakashi's voice was relaxed even though she was practically screaming at him.

"Not that again…" She frowned as if it wasn't the first time she had done it.

"You were going to do it anyway." Kakashi gestured toward the bells attached to her belt.

"Shut up!" She turned towards her squad and announced, "We're going to do the survival test with Kakashi's group!"

Naruto jumped up in a friendly way, "This'll be fun. Just like Academy times."

Kai smirked, "That's not a good thing for you."

"What did you say?!"

Toshizo was fast on his feet and split the two up immediately, "There's no need to waste energy before the survival exercise."

"You'd think it was a workout but those guys keeps saying exam." Kori jerked her thumb toward the older shinobi.

"Well aren't you a sharp one." Kakashi voice was almost teasing as he displayed his bells for the group to see, "I'm holding two bells and Asahina has two. All you have to do is steal these bells from us by noon."

Asahina gestured to the alarm clock sitting on the stump behind them, "You can get them from me or Kakashi but if you don't get them from us by noon, you'll be tied to the stump and I'll eat your lunch in front of you."

"Anything goes." Kakashi's voice was really relaxed for someone who was saying something dangerous, "You can use all your weapons and you should come at me with the intention to kill or you won't be able to get the bells."

"What?" Sakura shrieked, "Sensei that's dangerous."

"Then you can starve." Asahina has a smile that said it all, "If you're worried about the enemy, you'll just starve."

"That's right. There are only two bells." Kai was sharper than most, "You said this was an exam. If we fail what happens?"

"That's right." Asahina was practically singing sadistically, "There are four bells total. Two of you will ultimately be tied to the stump and be sent back to the Academy. I've studied you kids last night and none of you has the skill to get a bell so you'll all probably go back to the Academy."

"In your dreams, lady! I'm the future Hokage!" Naruto boasted, "I'm not going to fail!"

"Then try me." She smiled, "You may all start!"

The smarter Genin shinobi choose their hiding spots well. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy being an idiot. Asahina sweat dropped, "Your friends seem to understand they can't win by just fighting us head on… What are you doing?"

"Leave this one to me." Kakashi sighed.

"Alrighty then… I guess I'll go after… You!"

"What?" Kori spun around and slammed her palm into Asahina's fist. No doubt the woman was fast.

"Hmm… Juken?" She smiled and nodded in approval, "You're a Hyuga after all."

Kori gasped and flipped backwards when the woman aimed a blow at her face. Asahina was astounded by the girl's next actions and ended up diving out of the way as a blast of water whizzed by, "Suiton: Teppodama (Water Style: Liquid Bullet)."

"Hmm..." Asahina nodded her approval before flipping out of the way as shuriken flew passed her.

"Saizo?"

"You're in my way." The blonde jerked his arm forward is a punching motion, letting out a stream of lightning that seemed to take the shape of a beast, "Raiton: Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu (Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu)!"

Asahina flipped out of the way again, a light bead of sweat running down her forehead, "This is bad."

"You're the one in my way." Kori flashed passed the boy and slammed her palm into the ground where Asahina had been just a second ago.

"You're pretty fast." Asahina laughed, "Jeez. Kakashi just had to say 'Come at us with the intention to kill'."

"Move." Kai's fist connected with Asahina's back but in a puff of smoke, she was gone, "What?"

"Suiton: Teppodama!"

Kai froze as the blast of water rushed by his face. Asahina growled in frustration, abandoning her attempt at stabbing the boy in the back, "You're not half bad."

"Kai! You're in my way!" Kori wiped away the water on her lips before clapping her hands together again, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

"It's getting old." Asahina's foot slammed into Kai's side and he flew forward to get a mouth full of dirt, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!"

"What?" Kori flipped out of the way as her technique collided with her teacher's creating a cloud of steam.

Kai flipped passed her and into the brush behind them. Kori followed his lead and ended up crouching beside the boy. He spat out a load of dirt and growled, "You're in my way so just stay here."

"That's funny cause the one who took a mouthful of dirt was you."

"Because you were distracting me!"

"Wel-!" Kori was cut off by an ear-piercing scream, "Wasn't that… Sakura's voice?"

"Who cares?" Kai shrugged off the question coldly, "We're going to be next if you keep getting in my way."

"Kori-san, Kai-san." Toshizo peeked around the tree and finally decided to join them, "I know I might just slow you guys down but if I can help in any way just tell me."

"Not necessary." Kai caught a glimpse of their teacher's crimson colored hair from the corner of his eye and smirked, "Raiton: Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu!"

"Kai-san!"

"Tch. Suiton: Teppodama!" Kori clapped her hands together and blew out as much water as possible and in the confusion, managed to pull Kai out of the steaming area.

Kai turned a glared onto the blue-haired girl, "Mind your own business."

"That's not how you say 'thank you'!" She shot back.

"Kori-san, Kai-san. If we don't stop arguing we won't be able to take the bells." Toshizo made an attempt to calm the two.

Kai glared at the meeker boy, "There are only two bells. There is no 'we'."

"What is your problem, Saizo? Toshizo's ju-! DUCK!"

The three Genin pressed their bodies to the dirt as a flurry of shuriken flew just above them. A burst of radiant red light caused the three to panic. Kori jumped to her feet and clapped her hands together to intercept their teacher's next jutsu with her own but it wasn't needed.

"Asahina!" Kakashi held a kunai to the back of the female jonin's head, "They're just kids."

The woman froze mid-breath and clamped her mouth shut, steam escaping from her lips as she stifled her technique, "I got angry. My bad."

Kakashi sighed, "It's noon."

Asahina dusted off her pants, "Alright then, kids. Let's regroup."

Toshizo sweat dropped as the two more talented members of the group instantly glared at each other. He could've sworn he saw some sort of flames between their eyes but he didn't feel like calming them down if they were just going to turn that fire onto him. The three plopped down in front of the stumps, ignoring Naruto's screaming. Sasuke and Sakura sat on the ground like they did but Naruto was tied to the stump. Toshizo gulped, "Sasuke-san… Did you manage to get a bell?"

Sasuke glared at him, "Hn."

"There was no way for you to pass this test without working together." Asahina pulled a scroll from her flak jacket and unrolled it with a flick of her wrist and snatched Kakashi's book from his hand, "Confiscated."

He sighed, "Those boxes are for the five of you. No matter what you do just don't give Naruto any since he broke my rules and tried to eat it ahead of time. Think about what you've done and after lunch we'll try again if we have to."

"I'll give this book to you until after lunch." Asahina handed the book to Kori without looking up from her scroll of information on the genin, "Iruka says you're the most reasonable of the bunch and you'll probably see it my way."

When Kori took the book from her teacher's hand, Asahina finally looked up and smiled, "Just don't read it. That book is practically pornography."

"Yes ma'am."

"We'll be back~" Asahina sang, "Enjoy your lunch."

Toshizo watched their teacher drag Kakashi off without a word but as soon as they were gone he turned towards Kai, "Kai-san. I think we should really work together."

"I told you there is no 'we'."

"Saizo." Kori glared over her bento at the boy, "It wouldn't hurt any-!"

Kai pointed his chopsticks at the girl's nose, "You're stupid, aren't you? There are only two bells, either way one of us is going back to the academy. It won't be me."

Kori glanced towards Naruto's group and then back at Kai and remained silent.

"You see it my way now." With a smirk, Kai lowered his chopsticks.

"Kai-san, there are four bells." Toshizo whispered.

"Sasuke's score on the graduation exams were higher than mine. Do you think we have the skill to out play Sasuke?" Kai sneered.

"Saizo, you're only looking at them as individuals but if we think about them as a group then we can win." Kori grumbled, "But I have no intention of going back to the academy either."

Toshizo shook his head violently, "Then we're screwing them over. That's not a good idea."

Kai turned his chopsticks on Toshizo, "We? I think you should be able to see things my way. I was the second highest score in the class, and Sasuke was the first. We have the best chance at survival in this stupid exam. Hyuga, you were in the Top 5. So I'll include you. If the three of us try hard then we'll be able to take the bells. That only leaves one."

Kori raised an eyebrow, "Are you stupid? We tried already. Even if we forget about Toshizo, you and I couldn't beat Asahina-sensei. Even if we try harder, we can't beat her on our own. The one we should forget about is Sasuke. The three of us were put on this team. Sasuke wasn't. Even if we have to screw them over, we should help each other."

"That's a waste. If Sasuke was on this team there wouldn't be a problem. There wouldn't be anyone holding us back."

"You're the one holding us back." Kori slammed her half-eaten bento shut and picked up Kakashi's book, "Toshizo, forget about Saizo and work with me. I don't know if it's enough but if the two of us work together we can get one."

"Eh?" Toshizo, who had remained silent, was finally addressed.

"You heard me. If Saizo hates working together so badly then he can just be a loner and fail. You and I can ask them for help if we need it." Kori jerked her thumb in the direction of Naruto's group.

"Good call."

"What?" Kori pulled a kunai from the holder and turned to face the sly Kakashi, "How the hell did you get there?"

Kakashi pulled the book from her fingers and flipped it open before shaking it at Naruto's group, "You kids, broke my rules but you passed the test."

"What?" Kai glared at the book, "What is he talking about?"

Kori glanced at the bento at Naruto's feet, "They fed him."

"AH!" Asahina shrieked, "You returned his book?! I should just fail all of you!"

Kori snatched the book from Kakashi's light grip and put it behind her back, "What are you talking about?"

Kakashi blinked his one visible eye and clenched and unclenched his now empty hand, "I was getting to the good part…"

Asahina threw her arms around Kori's neck, "I like this one. Your earlier argument was very touching too. You pass."

"Me?" A smile tugged at her lips, "Are you being serious?"

"Of course, dear." Asahina patted the girl's head before twirling around to put an arm around Toshizo's shoulders, "You weren't bad either. The first to suggest working together deserves some credit. You pass."

Kori and Toshizo exchanged looks and smiled, "We passed!"

"You didn't have to say that you would screw my team over." Kakashi grumbled and shoved his hands in his pockets, "Didn't have to snatch my book either."

Ignoring Kakashi, Asahina pointed a finger at Kai, "You on the other hand, continuously refused to work together and I waited as long as I could before coming out to talk to you kids but you never agreed to work with your teammates. You even brought in Sasuke, who's not on our team. I'm not saying there's something wrong with putting both teams together to work together but you implied that you wanted to replace your own teammate with Sasuke. You're way too stubborn to pass. So therefore, I have to fa-!"

Kai's expression was dark, his eyes shaking with an angry fear. Kori sighed, "Sensei. He'll come around. Can't you just pass him?"

Both Kakashi and Asahina turned surprised looks onto the girl, "If I'm not mistaken, **you** were the one who said Kai holding you back."

"I did, but that was then and the two of us passed so there's no harm done." Kori smirked, "If you don't pass him, I don't get to show him that we don't need Sasuke on our team to be strong."

Sasuke himself glared at the girl, "She'd just rather have Kai than Naruto."

"Want to trade, Uchiha?" She joked.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke already seemed fully prepared to trade if possible.

"No." Kori rolled her eyes, "Could you pass Saizo, Sensei?"

"If you say so…" Asahina and Kakashi exchanged wary but satisfied glances, "I guess."

Kai glared at the blue haired girl, "I guess I owe you one now. You won't regret it."

"Nah. We're even cause I got a good laugh out of your face when you got a mouthful of dirt."

"Well, thanks to Kori. We are now one team." Asahina snatched the book from behind the girl's back, "I'll take this and I guess we'll all meet up for our first mission tomorrow. Good bye, kids!"


	3. Mission in the Land of Waves

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

"Carrying groceries?" Kai glared at the Hokage, "Are you crazy?"

Asahina pounded him over the head and apologized, "He's sorry, Hokage-sama. Thank you for the mission."

Kori sighed and held the door for her team and teacher, "Sensei, do we really have to carry groceries for our first mission?"

"I think you guys are lucky. My first mission wasn't that great." Asahina frowned, probably remembering her mission.

Not a single person dared to ask why. Toshizo smiled, "But we get to meet the daimyo's wife… Even if we have to carry groceries for her."

A description for their mission is not necessary. That's how boring it was for the three genin who carried brown paper bags filled with groceries and miscellaneous items for the daimyo's fat wife in the morning. Apparently Squad 7 had taken her previous mission and was out searching for her lost cat. She paid the village a decent reward for both of those missions. Squad 9 was happy to receive their first payment which was only a portion of the reward. Asahina smiled and congratulated them, "Good work. Are you ready for your next mission?"

No need to say that their final mission before lunch was equally miserable. The three genin spent the remainder of their morning walking dogs. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was picking up the dogs'…droppings. Toshizo held the leashes tightly, "Kai-san, can you pick that up?"

Kai growled, "I've had it!"

Kori gasped when he snatched the leashes from her hands and replaced them with a bag of dog poop and tongs, "Saizo!"

"You pick up that crap!"

She rolled her eyes and picked up the droppings without thinking twice, "Toshizo, make sure Saizo doesn't lose the dogs."

Kai glared at the girl, "I can walk a dog."

"Sure, sure."

"Alright kids. Let's go back." Asahina waved her timer in front of her, "Time to feed these dogs."

"Yes ma'am."

"You're all free to get lunch afterwards. Meet back in front of the Academy so we can get another mission at the desk."

* * *

"Asahina-san." Iruka held out a rolled parchment for her when Squad 9 regrouped at the Academy after lunch, "This is from Kakashi-san."

"Kakashi?" Asahina took the parchment and pulled the red string off, "Why would he send me a letter?"

"Kakashi and his squad went to the Land of Waves on a body-guarding mission." The Hokage informed them.

"Land of Waves? Body-guarding? Naruto?" Kai growled angrily, "Why didn't we get a real mission like that?"

Iruka slammed his hands on the table and stood up, "Beginning genin should stick to D-ranked missions!"

"D-ranked?" Toshizo looked confused.

Iruka sat back down by command of the Hokage and explained, "Missions are carefully recorded and sorted into five levels. These missions go from assassinations to house-hold chores and so they are separated based on difficulty, D-rank, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank and S-rank. We ninjas are also separated into ranks. Hokage at the top, jonin after that, chunin below them and genin are at the bottom."

"Based on your level, you get to take on certain assignments." The Hokage continued, "Beginners, or genin, only take on D-ranked missions. More experienced genin can receive a C-ranked mission but those are done mostly by chunin. B-ranked missions are done by chunin and jonin. A and S-ranked missions are done by jonin only."

"How are the missions separated?" Toshizo looked even more confused than when the explanation first started.

"Are you an idiot? What kind of ninja doesn't know that?" Kai growled.

Kori smacked his head, "Shut it smarty-pants! Don't worry Toshizo. It's not really a big deal. D-rank missions are boring. They're pretty much perfectly safe missions without much danger, like chores or babysitting. C-ranked missions have a possibility of combat or danger but not with other shinobi."

"B-rank is a mission with a high probability of combat with other shinobi. A-ranked missions involve more important people like protecting village heads. S-ranked missions have to do with even more important people and situations. They usually involve shinobi in the bingo book." Kai finished.

"Bingo book?"

"Oh my god." Kai growled, "Just shut up. We could explain forever and he would still have questions."

Kori elbowed the boy, "Questions are good. At least he wants to know. The Bingo book is just a book of criminals, a majority of them being Rogue Ninja. The book ranks them from D to S too and lists rewards for those who capture them. It's like a book of wanted posters."

Toshizo was obviously embarrassed, "So-sorry. I'll learn more as fast as possible."

"You be-!"

Kori jabbed the boy in the gut before he could finish, "Don't worry about it."

Iruka smiled with pride, "Those are my students."

"They're mine now." Asahina teased without looking up from her parchment.

"Ehhh… They'll always be my students." Iruka laughed.

The look on Asahina's face suddenly changed to a much darker expression. The Hokage glanced up at her, "Asahina, what's wrong?"

Suddenly the woman smiled, "Hokage-sama… Can I ask for a few days off?"

"Wh-What? Why all of a sudden?" Iruka asked, "Are you not feeling well?"

"Not at all!" She suddenly wrapped her arms around the shoulders of her students, "You see, these guys could use some training and time to get to know each other. Do you think we could travel outside the village and spend some time together?"

"Does it have to do with Kakashi-san?"

Toshizo cringed under the sadistic smile of their teacher and the cold tone of her voice, "I don't ever want to hear his name again."

Even the Hokage seemed to be powerless against the cold, sadistic false smile on her face, "If-If you insist. Have fun."

"Thank you so much." Her smile suddenly cleared up as she dragged her students out the door and a reasonable distance away from the Academy before dropping them.

"Se-Sensei. What's wrong?" Toshizo rubbed his neck.

"This is a top secret mission." Asahina smiled, "If you don't want to go, you're free to stay in the village without any consequences but hear me out first. That letter from Kakashi held some grave news. He needs help, his mission was falsely classified due to false info from his client. His mission was only supposed to be a C-rank but it could be an A-rank. Kakashi's group has made contact with two Rogue Ninja, the demon of the mist is one of them."

"How exciting." Kai smirked, "I'll go."

"If he needs help then I'll go too." Kori cracked her neck slowly.

"Think hard." Asahina warned them, "I'm going regardless but if you're afraid or don't have confidence, stay here. If you can't take a life without hesitation, stay here. This isn't an exam, this is real life. I can't guarantee your safety. Think hard."

Kori smirked, "Saizo, definitely doesn't lack confidence and he's not afraid. I'm sure I could take a life without batting an eyelash."

"I'll stay here." Toshizo smiled painfully, "I think Kai-san has said it already but I'm not like you guys. I'll only be in the way and I'm afraid…"

Asahina's expression was dark and serious, "There won't be a chance to reconsider after we leave the village. Kai, Kori, think again."

"If Naruto has what it takes to stay out there, I'll go." Kai smirked.

"Asahina-sensei, you preached about teamwork but you don't want to take us? Don't underestimate us." Kori proceeded with her stretching and knuckle cracking, "Toshizo. Come with us."

"But I-."

"Hey." Kai glanced at the boy over his shoulder, "If Naruto has what it takes to be out there on that mission, we do too."

Kori smiled and patted Toshizo's back, "You heard him. Let's go."

"That's our Kai." Asahina slapped the boy's back, "I think that's the first time I've heard him say 'we'. I was right to pass you."

"Shut up." He slapped her hand away a light blush on his face, "I just don't like the idea that Naruto is out there when he got lower scores than us!"

"Go home and pack lightly. We're running to the Land of Waves so meet outside the village in ten minutes." Asahina ordered, "If you're late, I'll leave without you."

The three genin rushed home after hearing her last words and threw a bag together before charging back to the village entrance. Asahina smiled when she saw them, "I forgot I wasn't waiting for someone like Kakashi this time. You guys are all on time."

Despite being out of breath, the three genin smiled, "I sprinted both ways."

"Good. This is your last chance to back out so listen up." Asahina's serious expression took over, "Kakashi's squad has made contact with a jonin-level ninja apparently and he suspects that there is a third. Among them was Momochi Zabuza, famous for his Silent-Killing technique. Kakashi suspects that Zabuza is still alive despite the strange hunter situation that happened. If we come across Zabuza, leave me and run. I'll make sure you all make it there safely. We're heading to the Land of Waves, an island country run by Gato. It seems that Zabuza is working for Gato so it won't be surprising if there are more ninja on the way. And-!"

"Sensei!" Kori cut her off, "Let's just run. There's nothing to worry about, I won't be running away from anyone and I won't ever leave anyone behind. Let's just get there and find out."

Asahina sighed, "I worry about you kids sometimes. That kind of confidence could be a weakness."

Kai smirked, "But it's not. I'll show you."

She sighed, "Alright. Full sprint to the Land of Waves!"

Asahina had to reduce her speed for the students to keep up but she was able to find out that in terms of speed and stamina, Kori was the best of the three. During the bell test, she had discovered the Toshizo was an average ninja. Kai's personality kept him from getting stronger but that was already beginning to change. Asahina smiled to herself, her students would be strong ninja someday. She skidded to a stop when the bridge came into view. Without a second thought, she stepped onto the water and turned toward her students, "We don't have time to find a boat but if you see one, we'll take it. For now try to focus your chakra on towards your feet and walk over this water. It's hard to use for beginners but the more you do it the easier it is to do."

"I've done this before." Kai smirked, "My clan teaches this to little kids."

Holding two fingers in front of her face, Kori whispered, "Byakugan."

She observed how Asahina's feet seemed to be radiating chakra and how Kai similarly focused a decent amount of chakra onto his feet before stepping out onto the water. She took into account how they adjusted their chakra even while they stood on the water. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her feet and chakra carefully before taking a step onto the water. Asahina clapped and nodded approvingly, "Not surprising since the Hyuga Clan is known for their superior control of chakra. I don't know why they call you the reta-... Uhh… Whoops."

She frowned, but didn't say anything. It took all of her concentration to stay afloat. She blinked her eyes and her Byakugan deactivated. Toshizo splashed into the water and came up gasping, "I can't do it. There's no way I can do it."

"Just try again. It's not easy." Asahina pulled the boy up and out of the water.

Kori frowned as Toshizo splashed into the water again. She was having trouble staying on top of the water as it was, she didn't need him to keep splashing around. Asahina wasn't joking. Kori found it easier and easier to stay afloat as time passed but she didn't like the look on Kai's face as Toshizo continued to sink into the water. Kai growled and threw Toshizo over his shoulder, "Let's go!"

"Kai!" Asahina frowned as the boy dashed off, "Kori, let's go too. Are you okay?"

She smiled, "I think this is getting easier."

"That's my girl." Asahina patted the girl's back, "Full sprint!"

Kori smirked, "Saizo, what are you doing?"

Kai was flat on his back, gasping for breath, "Shut up!"

Toshizo smiled sheepishly, "I won't deny it. I'm pretty heavy."

"Good work, Saizo." Kori patted the boy's heaving chest.

Asahina was quick to notice the economic situation of the Land of Waves. They were poor. No wonder the client lied about the mission info. If Kakashi wasn't lying to them, the client was a bridge builder working on a large bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland. Asahina wanted to believe that they were all okay so she didn't mention it but there was a possibility that the group was wiped out after she received the letter. She bit her thumb enough to draw blood and weaved her hands into the familiar signs before slamming her hand on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!"

"A lizard?" Kai huffed and allowed Kori to help him sit up.

"How rude! I'm not a lizard. I am a Dragon!" The little brown creature flicked his tongue at the genin.

"No matter how you look at it, it's a lizard." Kai repeated, staring at the half-foot long creature. He scowled, if he included its tail it was probably a foot long.

"Hiryu!" Asahina snapped, "Maybe if you grew more they wouldn't call you a lizard."

"You little brat!" The dragon snapped, "This is my full size! If you wanted a bigger creature, you should've called for Komodo or Kiryu!"

"Kiryu is too big and Komodo isn't on good terms with Kakashi anymore!" Asahina stabbed a finger into the dragon's side, "Just locate Kakashi."

"What is that thing?" Kai wasn't really asking anyone since he considered it a lizard.

"A type of komodo dragon." Asahina back away when the dragon glared at her, "Hiryu is trained to be able to hear but komodo dragons are usually pretty much deaf. Hiryu's been trained to have sharp senses."

"Give me the sample already." Hiryu snapped, sticking its tongue out.

Asahina waved Kakashi's book at the dragon until it got a good sniff, "They smell with their tongues, don't let it creep you guys out."

"Stop jabbering and get over here." Hiryu had already started scampering off somewhere.

The genin ran after the komodo dragon, Asahina leading them without any words. She rubbed her still bleeding thumb and scolded herself for being stupid. While worrying about Kakashi, she had bitten a little too hard and torn a chunk of her skin off rather than just breaking it enough to draw blood. He had written the letter a lot more sloppily than his normal handwriting and he had written that he used his sharigan. She sighed, he could barely move after using it. She hoped he was alive. Kakashi always put others before himself. Some would probably say he had a phobia of letting people die in front of him, enough so that he would put their lives above his own. Maybe that's not what one would call a phobia but to Asahina, Kakashi's personality was the cause of her fears and worries. Hiryu slapped her face with his tongue, "You young kids these days. Listen to you when your elders are talking!"

"Sorry… Kakashi's in there?"

"Kakashi's all you ever talk about. Try worrying about me for a change." Hiryu grunted, "I'm leaving now."

"Okay." In a puff of smoke, the dragon was gone.

Toshizo knocked on the door and smiled when a beautiful woman opened the door, "Hello there. I'm Tsukara Toshizo and these are my teammates and our teacher. We're looking for Kakashi."

The woman looked suspicious, "W-who?"

Asahina shoved the woman out of the way, "Kakashi! I know you're in here! Are you alive?"

Kai and Kori stomped in after their teacher while Toshizo took the time to apologize to the woman, "We're sorry. We won't cause trouble."

"Hatake Kakashi!" Asahina stormed through the house opening each door without care, "Kakashi! You're too old to play hide-and-seek with me!"

Asahina froze when she opened a door and spotted Kakashi sitting in the middle. He sat on a futon, the blanket covering his legs and his students sitting around him. He froze when he saw her and she saw him swallow hard. Naruto shrieked when he saw her and then again when he saw all of her students, "You guys?! What are they doing here?! Wasn't this a mission just for us?"

Kai smirked, "You're still alive? Not a surprise that Sasuke's alive but you? Hah."

"What did you say?!" Naruto jumped up to attack the boy.

Sasuke snorted, "Losers."

Toshizo jumped around, breaking up fights, "Stop. Stop it. Stop."

Oblivious to her student's argument, Asahina continued to stare at Kakashi. Kakashi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly but then extended one arm with a smile. She approached him carefully at first but couldn't contain the urge to hold him and almost jumped into his arms. She punched his shoulders lightly, "You stupid, stupid moron."

"You came." He was still smiling.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" She wasn't trying hard to scowl at him but she knew she was smiling. She was never able to stay angry at Kakashi for a long time, especially when he smiled at her. He was always wearing a mask but he smiled with his eye. His visible eye would always smile when he was happy.

"You brought your students too…" He grumbled without taking his eye off her.

"And all of your students are still alive." She whispered.

He lowered his voice to match hers, "Somehow we made it."

"And you overused your Sharigan."

"It was embarrassing. I collapsed in front of the kids."

She forced his back to the futon and pulled the blanket over him, "You're an embarrassing person to be with."

Surprise flickered in his eye for a moment, soon to be replaced by a teasing look, "But you came for me, didn't you?"

"No way." She put up a hand in protest noticing that the students were no longer arguing but starting to take an interest in their conversation, "I came for Uchiha Sasuke."

His hand snapped to hers and he pulled it closer to his face to examine something he had spotted, "This…"

"Wh-what?" Asahina was suddenly afraid of his serious face, "What is it?"

"That's my line. What happened?" He turned her hand for her to see the scab on her own thumb, "Did you get into a fight on the way?"

She blinked a few times and then remembered that she had accidentally bitten off a chunk of her thumb for her Summoning Jutsu. Embarrassed, she pulled the covers over the man's head, "None of your business!"

Kakashi groaned and waved his hand around randomly, "Mfph… Hmmhmmhnph…"

"Sensei… You're suffocating him." Toshizo pointed out carefully, afraid that she would strangle him for mentioning it.

"Ah!" She pulled the blanket off his face and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

He groaned again and put a hand over his face, leaving a gap between his fingers, "Why does she hate me so much?"

Asahina slammed her hand over the gap and grumbled, "Cause you're stupid."

"Don't act like you don't like stupid guys." Kakashi groaned when she pressed her palm further onto his face, "I'm going to be killed by you instead of Zabuza…"

She didn't like the fact that he brought her first crush into the situation, "You really fought with Zabuza?"

He nodded, "And he got away."

"Hmm… Not a surprise. How many were there?"

"Enough to beat us if they all came at us at once." Kakashi groaned when she slapped his chest, "There were three of them! I couldn't possibly have beaten them all."

"There was one with a mask too." Sakura spoke up.

"Oh yeah." Kakashi coughed and swatted the woman's hand away when she slammed it onto his chest again, "That one didn't even attack us! Stop hitting me."

"There were four of them…" She glared at the man, "You should've died. They let you get away alive…"

"I don't think so…" Kakashi locked eyes with her, "There was Zabuza and then a girl came when I was about to take down Zabuza. When they fled, I saw the masked man. The masked man could be just another ninja. The girl was fast, and she only attacked once but she was definitely not just an average ninja."

"And this was…?"

"The day before yesterday." Kakashi sat up again, "Naruto, Sasuke! Why are you guys still here? Did you make it to the top of the tree yet?"

"Top of the tree?" Kai lifted an eyebrow at the two, "Why are you guys climbing trees like monkeys?"

Asahina shooed her students out, "Go learn from them."

"What?" Kai glared at his teacher, "Are you crazy? I refuse to mess around!"

"Sounds fun." Kori sighed and dragged Kai out behind her, "We'll go learn now."

Kai growled, "What are you doing? Are we really going to climb trees?"

"Why not?" She followed the Sasuke and Naruto out to the forest at the edge of the village. Sakura had come to explain the lesson to them.

Toshizo observed as the three genin from Squad 7 showed them what was to be done. It seems that only Sakura had the technique down. Sasuke and Naruto struggled with it. Kai snorted, "Losers. How can they not know this?"

Without batting an eyelid, Kai walked up the tree and hung upside down from a branch before dropping back down comfortably. Toshizo frowned, "I can't do it."

Kori took a deep breath and put one foot after the other and climbed the tree to the very top and climbed back down, "It's not that hard compared to the water."

"You didn't hang upside down so don't talk." Kai snorted.

She glared at him but ran up the tree to hang upside down from the first branch, "Bleh! You're a loser."

Kai shrugged, "If you could stand on water and you can't do this, you're a retard."

"Kori! Oh no!" Sakura shrieked.

"Idiot!" Kai slid forward to catch the falling girl. He groaned as his butt connected with the dirt, "What's wrong with you?! Are you okay?"

Naruto and Sasuke paused in their training and approached the rest of the genin. Naruto helped the two up, "What happened?"

"She just fell." Sakura sighed, "Kori, you scared me!"

"Sorry…" She grumbled and shook her head slowly, "I just remembered something bad."

Kai blinked after her as she walked away. Toshizo just stared blankly at his teammates. Kai raised an eyebrow at Naruto's heated glare, "What? Was it something I said?"

"You called her a retard!" He pointed an accusing finger at Kai, "That's taboo with her!"

"What are you talking about?" Kai spat, "Don't act like you know something I don't."

"Kai-san, 'retard' was common knowledge." Toshizo smiled nervously.

"What are you talking about?" He growled.

Sasuke smirked and sat down in front of the blonde, "You're always saying how you'll be better than me. If you don't know that much then you're stupid."

"What?!"

Toshizo could've sworn that there were sparks flying between the two as they glared at each other, "Kai-san. You probably don't know since you never cared much for girls but Kori-san was always like that."

"What are you talking about?" Kai stared at the genin around him like they had all grown extra heads or something.

"Kai-kun." Sakura thrust a finger in his direction, "You're on the same team and you don't know?"

Suddenly, Kai felt much less superior than he usually felt and ended up visibly shrinking, "N-noo…"

Naruto grinned victoriously, "Now, who's the idiot?"

"AGH! Leave me alone!" Kai stomped off in the opposite direction.

Toshizo laughed nervously, "I hope he doesn't stay mad forever."

"Just let him be." Sasuke grumbled and turned back to his tree, "Train."

"Yes sir."


	4. Childish Flirting ?

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Toshizo frowned. The sun was beginning to set and his teammates had yet to return. Both Kori and Kai had stomped off after a slight slip of the tongue and a few teasing remarks but he had expected them to come back before the sun set. Even if he ignored his team problems, Toshizo wasn't having a very good day. He just couldn't climb the tree. Naruto and Sasuke were climbing up higher and higher but Toshizo had barely gone anywhere. Compared to the two of them, he felt insignificant. His rear end was sore from falling over and over again and at this point he was ready to pray for someone to come help him.

"Toshizo." That was the voice of a goddess to Toshizo at this point, a goddess that came to save him.

"Kori-san!" He cried, spinning around to face her, "Thank god."

She looked fairly amused, "What? Not going well?"

He shook his head, "I can't even catch up to Naruto."

"It's not a big deal. Just mold the chakra into the soles of your feet and climb." She spoke nonchalantly, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"That's easy for you to say. I'm not as talented as you."

"It's not about talent, it's about how fast you learn. Try it some more."

Toshizo turned to face the tree with a sigh. He was preparing himself for another fall rather than molding his chakra or anything complicated. He charged toward the tree and barely made contact with the trunk before falling back and hitting his head on the hard dirt. He sighed, "I can't do it."

"That's why you can't do it…" Kori laughed, "Be a little more confident. Let's do it together."

Toshizo was a little taken aback when the girl offered him a hand. He took it gratefully and sat up. He gasped when a rush of chakra ran through his hand and up his arm. Kori was already hanging parallel to the ground with her feet firmly attached to the nearest tree. She tugged at his hand slightly and took another step up the side of the tree. He gulped, "I'll only make you fall."

"Not true." She smiled, "I'll hold you up if I have to. You can do it."

He took several deep breaths and focused all his energy into his feet. He could still feel her chakra rushing into him. He timidly put one foot on the bottom of the tree and followed the girl up with only one eye open. He half thought he was going to fall but Kori held his hand tightly and lead him up the remaining portion of the tree, taking the time to sit on a branch near the top of the tree. Naruto was screaming about how he was cheating but Toshizo wasn't really listening. She helped him sit on the branch beside her. He sighed, "That wasn't easy."

"Yeah?" She was still smiling but her breath shook as she took in short gasps of breath, "I told you that you could do it."

He suddenly didn't feel as accomplished, "Sorry."

Kori had already caught her breath and was looking down at Sasuke, who was glaring up at her, "No need to be sorry. Now you've come this far once so you'll be able to do it again with more practice."

"Th-Thank you." He tore his eyes away from the girl with a blush on his face, "Kori-san… Why are you so nice to me all the time?"

She was locked in a glaring contest with Sasuke but she smiled, "Well, you were nice to me first so I'm only returning the favor. And I'm trying to make up for Saizo's portion of kindness too."

"You're strange." Toshizo laughed.

"Thanks." She suddenly flipped back and hung from the branch upside down, "Well, the sun is gone. Let's go back."

"I'm good at falling." He grumbled carefully attempting to make his way down the tree but ended up falling about half the way down.

Kori pulled him to his feet, "Well… At least you didn't fall the whole way."

* * *

Asahina laughed, clutching her belly and leaning against Kakashi for support, "You want to know about Kori? Someone's in love with her!"

"I am not!" Kai growled, a tint of pink on his face from the blunt accusation of his teacher, "I just don't want to know less about my own teammate than Sasuke."

Kakashi looked amused, "Then why didn't you just ask her?"

"She said she didn't want to talk about it." He grumbled.

"Well, she the Hyuga clan's 'retard'. You already knew that the main branch puts seals on the side branch right?" Asahina continued when he nodded, "And you know that Kori's in the side branch but she doesn't have a seal right?"

"She's lucky if you ask me." Kai growled, "Why does that make her a retard?"

"They've tried to brand her with the seal several times but her body just won't accept it." She shook her head, "Poor child. Starting at the age of two she had to go through this process several times. It's said to be extremely painful."

"I still don't get how that makes her a retard."

"The Hyuga Clan has strict beliefs I suppose." Asahina shrugged, "I don't know the whole story myself."

"And it bothers her… Why?"

"Because…. She's a Hyuga?" His teacher answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"By the way… Who's that kid?" Kai caught a glimpse of a little boy trying to eavesdrop on them without being noticed but he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding behind the door.

"Ahh… That's Inari. The client's grandson." Kakashi crossed his arms, "The client will be back soon. Go get the kids, Asahina."

"Don't tell me what to do." She snatched the book from the side of his futon, "Read a real book!"

Asahina had just barely made it to the door when the client returned with Sakura. She nodded to the young ninja and moved on. She didn't get very far though. Their students were already making their way back, some looking more tired than others. Kori was practically dragging Naruto down the road. The blue-haired girl offered her teacher a half smile as they returned to the house together for dinner.

The dinner table was noisy and awkward. Naruto and Sasuke were having some sort of eating contest while Kai and Kori awkwardly sat next to each other. The two ate quietly. Kakashi and Asahina exchanged glances but didn't say anything. Kai sat there quietly, not really understanding why the awkward atmosphere wouldn't go away. He never thought that he would have to talk to a girl and he certainly didn't think that he would ever have to feel so awkward. The thought of apologizing in front of so many people made him feel even more awkward. He barely even noticed them clear the plates after he was done. His dilemma was simple. How does one talk to a girl privately without making it awkward?

"Kori." Sasuke didn't miss the glare he got from Kai.

"Hmm?" She hummed, looking over her shoulder as she helped Inari's mother wash the dishes.

"Are you almost done?"

Kori shivered when she felt Sakura's heated glare on her back, "Yeah… Why?"

The girl dried her hands, not forgetting to thank the lady for the towel. Sasuke was smirking confidently in her direction, "Let's talk outside when you're done."

Kai slammed his hands on the table and stomped over to the girl, taking her by the wrist without a word and dragging her out the door. Toshizo sighed, "Sasuke-san… That wasn't very nice."

Kori managed to pull her wrist from Kai's grasp by the time they had reached the edge of the forest, "What do you want?"

The boy had his back turned to her but it didn't look like he was ready to talk anytime soon. He took a deep breath and blurted, "I'm sorry."

Her eyebrows rose slightly, "The heck are you talking about?"

"I didn't mean to you know…" He grumbled in a low voice.

She could barely even hear what he was saying but she shrugged and tapped his shoulder, "Whatever. Don't worry about it."

He looked over his shoulder and hoped that the dark of the night would cover the pink on his nose, "Now what?"

"What?" She looked like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Am I supposed to do something else? Or…"

"Don't tell me you've never apologized before…."

"I have… Just not to a girl…"

"Is it different than apologizing to a guy?" She tilted her head to the side subconsciously.

"I don't know."

She laughed, "You're weird."

"Our team is full of weirdoes…"

* * *

A group of three entered a shady looking house in the middle of the forest. Two men were dressed to fight and the other one was a short shady looking business man. They opened and shut the door as quickly as possible, letting in as little of the sunlight as they could. The four inside weren't happy to see them. Momochi Yui flipped her long silvery hair over her shoulder, "Gato."

"As rude as ever, Yui. That's Gato-sama to you." The stout man sneered, "Some demon of the hidden mist. More like a loser of the hidden mist."

The two men that appeared to be his body guards snickered and began to draw their swords. Gato held up a hand and stepped forward to stand beside Zabuza's beside, "Hold on. Let's hear your excuse, Zabuza."

Gato reached down to strangle the man but Yui's blade was at his throat in a second. Haku held the man by the wrist, gripping it so tightly that the room was filled with the crackling sounds of Gato's bones. Yui growled, "Keep your hands to yourself."

When the two body guards charged forward, the fourth person jumped into action. Hanzo Aya was sure her hair slapped them in the face as she grabbed their swords and danced into place next to Yui and Haku. Her hair was the whitish-gray color of the mist that the four of them took such pride in. Gato growled, "One more chance! If you fail this time, I'll cut you off and there'll be no one left to support you!"

As soon as the three men stomped out Zabuza grumbled, "You three… That wasn't necessary."

Yui glared down at her older brother, "What are you talking about? It's not our fault you're so slow."

"Yui…" Zabuza glared up at her, "I'll kill you first."

"Whatever." She waved her blade in front of his face before putting it away.

Aya giggled, "Yui-chan, you shouldn't be so mean to your brother."

"When he learns to be mature, I will. You should act your age, Zabuza." Yui rolled her eyes. Her brother was twice her age. Technically speaking, he was only her half-brother but he was the only family she had left. The Demon of the Mist had a soft spot for kids with kekkei genkai powers. All three of the children in the room were all orphaned after the hunt for those with kekkei genkai.

Yuki Haku, a boy with long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame, and feminine features. Haku's shinobi outfit consisted of the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stops at his knees. He wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. His mother was murdered by his father after the secret of their kekkei genkai was discovered.

Momochi Yui, a thirteen year old girl and Zabuza's half-sister. Her waist length silvery hair was the trademark of her mother's clan. Her crimson-red eyes and mature facial features combined with her mature attitude almost made it seem like they had little to no age difference. She wore tight, black combat pants and a loose dark-purple tank top. Her forehead proudly displayed the forehead protector of the Hidden Mist. Her mother was killed by a group of shinobi hunters eight years ago.

Hanzo Aya, also thirteen years old, is the adopted daughter of a wealthy family in the Hidden Mist. Her ghostly white hair was the color of the mist that enshrouded much of their village. Her sharp blue eyes and childish features made her the opposite of Yui. She wore short black shorts and a white t-shirt. She also bore the symbol of the Hidden Mist Shinobi proudly. She was orphaned ten years ago but adopted into a wealthy family and became a rogue ninja after killing her adoptive brother in an act of self-defense three years ago.

Each of them had their own reason for being with Zabuza and their own story to come with it but their loyalty to the man lying before them was not so different. They were grateful to the man who gave them a reason to keep living when they thought they had nothing left even if he only kept them around to use as tools. They were prepared to strike together to keep Gato from cutting them off.

* * *

Days later in the dead of the night, Naruto and Sasuke had returned from another day of training claiming to have made it to the top of the tree. Kakashi nodded in approval, "Alright. Starting from tomorrow, we're all going to defend Tazuna-san."

The client nodded in appreciation as Naruto and Sasuke collapse onto the ground, exhausted. Kori helped Sasuke into a chair while Toshizo helped Naruto. Naruto rested his head on the table with his eyes closed. Suddenly, Inari jumped up angrily, "Why do you people try?! The weak will always lose to the strong! Gato's men are going to kill you all!"

"Shut up. I'm different from you." Naruto rolled his eyes playfully.

Kai smirked, "A first class loser."

Kori elbowed him harshly, "Shhh."

"Shut up! It pisses me off how you people don't know anything and still try to fight against Gato! I'm different from you people who don't know any real pain!" Inari screamed.

"Is that why you act like you're the main character in some sappy tragedy and cry all the time? Why don't you grow up, you big crybaby?"

The two stomped in opposite directions. Kori looked back and forth between the two and shrugged when Toshizo caught her eye. Asahina on the other hand wasn't so neutral. She stomped out after Inari like she had a scolding to give him and Kakashi sighed before following her out to keep her from hitting the boy. Kori eyed Sasuke carefully. She was slightly offended that Inari thought she didn't know what real pain was and she was absolutely certain that Sasuke knew that pain better than anyone but he didn't seem to mind.

Asahina growled when Kakashi got to the boy first and motioned for Asahina to sit next to him, on the side Inari wasn't on. He smiled at the little boy, "Naruto didn't say that to you out of spite, just so you know."

"You have no right to talk about real pain kid. Not until you know what real pain is." She growled.

Kakashi held up a hand, comforting her silently, "Naruto is just like you. He didn't have a father growing up. Actually, he didn't have any family or friends. But he never cried or got sulky about it. He just tries hard to have someone acknowledge him. He's probably bored of crying by now. That's why he knows the true meaning of being strong, like your father. Naruto might be the one who understands you the most."

Asahina smiled. He was giving the boy too much credit. Kakashi himself probably knew a similar pain. As he talked, she was able to rediscover how mature the man was. She and Kakashi had practically grown up together and fought in war together but she thought he was the most manly when he was talking. Yes, talking. Not when he was fighting, not when he was reading that perverted book, not when he was teaching his students, not even when he was in the ANBU corps, but when he was talking like a mature adult. She loved listening to his voice, watching him talk, maybe she would ask him to read to her someday. She had discovered long ago that Kakashi had a way with words and had fallen for him on the spot, not that she would ever tell him that.

"Oi! Asahina!"

She blinked a few times as Kakashi waved his hand in front of her face. Inari had gone inside a short while ago and Kakashi had waved goodbye and tried to get her attention. She shook her head, "What?"

"Whew. I thought you were giving me the silent treatment for not letting you yell at the kid." Kakashi sighed, "So… What were you staring at?"

"M-Mind your own business!" She turned her head away to hide her blush.

"Were you staring at me?" Kakashi joked, "Don't go falling for me now…"

"Sh-Shut up!"

He flopped back to lie against the wooden foundation of the house, "I was joking."

"I know." She rolled her eyes, "And even if you weren't, there's no way anyone would fall for you."

He patted the area next to him with a snort, "Right…. Right…"

She leaned back with a smile, "We used to do this a lot."

"Not enough if you ask me…"

"No one asked." She rolled her eyes.

He held out a hand for her, "Well, I'm telling you. We used to hold hands too."

"No one cares." She sat up to hide another blush.

"Ahhh…" Kakashi drawled lazily, dropping his hand, "Fine then. I'll sleep out here today. Good night."

"No… You're going to sleep inside like a normal person."

"I don't want to." He snorted, closing his eyes.

Asahina felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. She changed her mind. She hated it when he opened his big fat mouth. He should just staple his lips together or something. She rolled her eyes, "Don't blame me when you get sick."

"… No… It's your fault if I get sick."

"I didn't tell you to sleep out here." She sweat dropped.

"I'll sleep inside if you hold my hand." He held up his hand lazily.

Her eyebrow twitched angrily and she opened her mouth to say something but then changed her mind, "You know what…? I'll hold your hand if you do something for me."

That got his attention. His eye opened slowly, "Something? Like what?"

She held up a hand, motioning for him to wait while she ran inside to get something, "Ta-dah!"

Kakashi sat up slowly, "That's my book… Icha-Icha Paradise…"

She plopped down next to him and dropped the book in his lap, "Read it to me and I'll hold your hand while you're reading."

Asahina smirked. She could see the cold sweat on Kakashi's face. No one in the entire world would want to read something so perverted to anyone. It was embarrassing even for Kakashi. He was frowning under that mask, "Y-You know… I'll lend it to you if you want to read it."

"There's no point if you don't read it to me. I hate reading books but I like stories."

"Do you know what this book is about?"

She smirked, "No… That's why you're going to read it to me."

He leaned back again, slamming his book down to the side, "Forget it."

She smiled over her shoulder at him but he just rolled over onto his side, childishly, she might add, "Kakashi…"

He didn't answer but instead he pushed the book further away from them.

"Kakashi." She shook him gently but when he didn't respond she rolled her eyes, "Fine then. Don't talk to me."

He held out a hand without turning to face her, "Hold."

Asahina just laughed, "You're so immature."

He shook his hand and spoke more firmly, "Hold."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes, dropping her hand in his. When he still didn't turn around, she snorted, "Alright then. Don't talk to me."

He rolled over to face her, "How do you like your students?"

"I'm wanted Uchiha Sasuke on my team." She crinkled her nose, "But my team is interesting too."

Kakashi was giving her an amused look, "Don't tell me you're playing favorites… And with someone who's not even your student."

"No." She laughed, "I don't play favorites with my students, Kakashi. It's not my fault Sasuke's interesting."

"Your mother is more interesting to me." Kakashi chuckled lightly.

"Was that supposed to be an offensive joke?" Asahina lifted an eyebrow, "'Your mama' joke? Are you being mean cause Sasuke likes me more than you?"

Kakashi grinned lazily, "No. No. And no. I think it's time to sleep."

The female jonin removed her hand from his and stood up, "Yes sir."

"I'm going to stay out here a while longer. You can go in first."

"Don't fall asleep out here, Kakashi."

He smiled but didn't say anything in reply. As soon as she was out of sight, he sighed, pulling his book from his pouch. His childhood friend seemed more interested in Uchiha Sasuke than him. Asahina just never seemed to have any interest in him and that was perfectly fine in his book. He was grateful that she put up with his childish acts, his pitiful excuse for flirting. His childhood wasn't exactly normal so he didn't really have another method of flirting with her, he had never learned, not that he was interested in her like that anyways. He closed his eyes and leaned his back against the wall of the house behind him. Maybe he was interested in her and he was just denying it to himself. Regardless, he didn't want to lose his childhood friend because he couldn't figure it out and control his own feelings. He turned the page half-heartedly as someone screamed about Naruto's farting from inside the house. He sighed, "It's going to be a long night."

* * *

**Oh god. Kakashi was waaaayyyy out of character, isn't he? What do you think?**


	5. Kekkei Genkai

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

"Hatake Kakashi! You're freezing!" Asahina pulled her hand back almost immediately after touching his shoulder in and attempt to shake him awake.

He cracked his eye open and felt his face heat up as soon as he realized how close the woman was to him. He grinned, hiding his slight embarrassment effectively, "Good morning."

"Don't you 'Good morning' me!" She scolded him; he always made weak excuses when he was in trouble, "You fell asleep out here!"

"At least I'm not late today." Kakashi joked, realizing that she was warming his hands with her own.

"This is worse than being late." Her brow was furrowed, with what looked like worry to Kakashi, as she worked hard on warming his hands, "What if you're sick?"

"I'm not." He assured the woman.

"Get up." She pulled him up and shooed him inside, "Hurry up. We're eating breakfast. And wake up your students!"

"No need." Sasuke was already wandering into the kitchen for food with Sakura trailing right behind him.

Kori, Kai and Toshizo were already in the kitchen, munching on their food quietly. Kakashi lifted a hand to greet them all, "Naruto's still sleeping, huh?"

Sasuke snorted, "That loser."

Naruto hadn't gotten up even after their breakfast time was over so Kakashi decided to leave him behind and the two squads headed toward the bridge with their client.

* * *

"Oi! I didn't hire you guys out of pity, you know? What do you think you guys are doing? Hurry up." Gato's voice was screaming at them from the small radio sitting at the bottom of their wooden boat.

Yui's eyebrow twitched angrily, "Zabuza, get rid of that thing."

"Got it." He stomped on the small machine, breaking it into un-repairable pieces, "Let's go."

Aya grinned wildly, "This'll be great."

Yui turned her gaze onto the partially built bridge above them, "We'll get them this time."

* * *

"What is this?! What happened?!" Tazuna screamed upon seeing the condition of his fellow bridge builders.

Asahina crouched down to assess their health and nodded, "They're still alive."

The thickening of the mist signaled a danger that they were waiting for, Momochi Zabuza. Toshizo froze, unable to speak or move under the extremely thick killing-intent that rolled in with the mist. Kai hadn't gotten very far either, his kunai was barely in front of him as his hands shook with fear. Kori's Byakugan was already activated, her hands in front of her in a defensive stance. Asahina didn't have to look twice to realize that the boys of the group were incapable of fighting under the intense mood. A deep male voice chuckled through the mist, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. You brought reinforcements, huh? Still looks like your brats are shivering with fear again."

Toshizo was already fighting back tears under the intimidating murderous intent. Kai's throat had gone dry and he forced himself to scoot closer to Kori. The blue-haired girl could see the man hidden in the mist with his accomplices with her Byakugan. She could see it all. Sasuke was excitedly shaking with a smirk on his face, Toshizo was on the verge of tears, Kakashi was standing next to him with a kunai in his hand, Asahina's hand was already by her shuriken holder, Sakura and the bridge builder looked oblivious to the thick murderous intent and Kai inched closer to her. "It's coming."

Suddenly, the group was surrounded by the man's water clones. Kori was tempted to push Kai away from her but he looked determine to prove something. Sasuke smirked, "I'm shivering from excitement."

Kakashi nodded, "Go ahead, Sasuke."

The man's clones didn't stand a chance. Sasuke's kunai effectively turned them into puddles of water with great speed. The man's voice seemed more amused than afraid, "Ohhh… So he can beat the clones now? That kid's stronger now. Looks like you'll have some fun after all, Haku."

Kori's eyes relaxed as the faraway figures came much closer, close enough to be seen without the use of her Byakugan. Asahina recognized Zabuza from the images in the bingo books and assessed the kids thoroughly. Kakashi sighed, "Looks like I was right. The one with the mask is with Zabuza."

"So it was a lie that he was chasing Hidden Mist ninja?" Tazuna sounded more panicked, probably because there were more of them than the first time.

"Look at him, coming out like that. Some nerve after lying to us." Sakura huffed.

"Conceited brat. He should've just stayed hidden like last time." Kakashi sighed, "I hate kids like that."

"He's just playing fair, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura snapped.

"Ah… Really?"

"Leave him to me." Sasuke growled, "I hate conceited people like him."

"Sasuke-kun's so cool." Sakura swooned.

Asahina sweat dropped, "Isn't that what you just said, Kakashi?"

"She never corrects Sasuke…" He sulked.

"But Sasuke-kun is kind of cool." She laughed.

"Sasuke…-kun?" Kakashi sighed, "It's going to be a long day."

Aya frowned, "Are they arguing amongst themselves?"

"You can go first if you want." Zabuza glanced at the impatient girl.

Her face instantly brightened up, "Aye sir!"

"Mine." Kori charged forward to meet the girl halfway.

Aya's foot connected with the girl's palm almost harmlessly. The girl flipped back, surprised, "She's fast."

Asahina pulled the girl back by the hood, "This isn't a game. What if she was stronger than you?"

Kori shrugged, "It's not like Saizo was going to move."

Kai might've been offended if he wasn't so terrified, "I'll t-take the next one."

Zabuza looked more amused than he had before, "Those kids aren't half bad. Yui."

"I got it." The girl drew her sword and charged forward.

Clapping her hands together, Kori sucked in a deep breath, "Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Style: Liquid Bullet)."

With a deadly amount of focus, Yui planted her feet firmly on the ground and split the water in two. Zabuza chuckled madly, "Even Yui was stopped! Haku, it's your turn."

His sister tossed a glare over her shoulder, "Shut up."

Haku spun at an increasingly fast pace towards their group. Sasuke easily stopped the boy from coming any closer with his kunai blocking the boy's senbon. Sakura squealed happily, "Sasuke-kun! You're so cool."

Kori spared the two a short smile before she was disturbed by Yui's blade. She barely managed to flip out of the way. She pulled a kunai from her holster in response but there was nothing to worry about. Asahina released a flurry of shuriken, and it was Yui's turn to get out of the way. Aya was the next to attack with a random barrage of kunai and paper bombs. "Get down!"

As an instant response to her teacher's command, Kori tackled Kai to the ground somehow ending up safe and sound, "Asahina-sensei!"

The woman held Yui's blade between her fingers while holding Toshizo behind her with her free arm. Kai shook with fear underneath the blue-haired girl, wild thoughts invading his mind. Was he going to die here, like a pitiful **boy**? It was different from the tests at the Academy. Having a high score didn't mean anything here. How was it that a person who graduated with a lower score than him was able to move so easily? Was she not afraid? He vaguely registered that her lips were moving but he couldn't hear anything over the thundering of his own heart. His entire world was shaken, except for the one fact that Uchiha Sasuke was not in the same situation as him.

The silver haired Yui didn't like being pressed to put away her blade but she had no choice, Asahina wasn't someone she could play around with, "Tetsuton: Ken no Mai. (Iron Style: Swords Dance)"

"No signs?" Asahina weaved her fingers into the most familiar signs in her memory bank, "Katon: Nagarehoshi! (Fire Style: Shooting Star)"

Yui's jutsu clearly summoned dozens of blades in a strange variety of shapes. The blades roared across the short distance between the two fighters but Asahina's technique was already prepared to counter the blades. What seemed to be blazing balls of volcanic rock rushed across to meet the blades in streaks of orange and white, giving them the appearance of a falling star. Yui's eyes opened as widely as possible, "That's not possible. There's no way that you could possibly be Konoha's Taiyo… (Konoha's Sun) Taiyo Asahina…"

Zabuza laughed wildly from his spot only a few meters away, "This is just great! Copy Ninja Kakashi and Taiyo Asahina! I knew she looked familiar!"

"I'll cut you down no matter who you are." Yui growled, "I suggest you surrender now."

"We'll see about that." The jonin growled.

"Tetsuton: Tetsugyakusatsu! (Iron Style: Iron Massacre)" The girl's blood-red eyes glowed with the power of her demonic chakra as her arm began to morph into an enormous chainsaw, rotating at speed that produced a grinding sound.

Asahina weaved a few more signs and crouched down with her hand in front of her face, "Katon: Wakuseiken. (Planetary Blade)"

The two stared each other down, searching for an opening in the other's defense. Meanwhile, Kori stood toe to toe with Hanzo Aya, who wore a mad smile on her face. She put out a hand for her opponent, "I'm Hanzo Aya. I'll kill you but it's nice to meet you."

Kori took her hand slowly, carefully assessing the girl's strength, "Hyuga Kori. I don't know about getting killed though."

"I like you. You're funny. Too bad Zabuza told me to kill you." Aya's hair almost seemed to be camouflaged into the mist, "You're like us."

"Like you?"

"Kekkei genkai."

Kori tensed considerably. She was aware that shinobi with kekkei genkai were extremely special and on top of that, more powerful than others if they trained properly. Her own family valued their kekkei genkai, the Byakugan, more than their own lives. The secrets were never to leave the family yet this girl was announcing hers like it wasn't anything special. The girl didn't have much of a presence. She was a pale as they came, adding her hair color she looked like a complete ghost. Although she seemed to have a completely contrasting personality compared to her appearance. The ghostly girl smiled eerily, "Reiton: Kagami no Jutsu. (Spirit Style: Mirror Technique)"

The mist around the girl seemed to take the shape of rectangular slabs, becoming more and more clear until Kori could clearly see her reflection. She could see the terrified image of Toshizo in one mirror and in the one next to it, Kai. The genin scanned the mirrors carefully, seeing the image of a different person in each of the six mirrors; herself, Kai, Toshizo, Asahina, Sasuke and Aya. The eerie girl smiled faintly, "Let's have a look at what's in your heart, shall we? Let's find out what you're truly afraid of."

The wary genin barely blinked but the images in the mirrors had already changed. Aya's childish but creepy voice echoed along the bridge, "I'll show you hell. Mirror number one shows the fears of the past."

_Kori felt as if her sense had been robbed from her and standing before her was her father who had been killed long ago. He smiled at her gently like he used to and she reached out to touch him but it was too late. Her mind was stocked with the image of her father being slaughtered for the sake of the village in place of Hyuga Hiashi, just because he wasn't in the main branch._

When her vision cleared and her mind returned to the battlefield, she had one scratch on her cheek and Aya's surprised face came to greet her, "You're pretty strong. You didn't even scream."

The Hyuga could barely think before another mirror was thrust in front of her and her senses were robbed once more_. She closed her eyes in desperation but the images seemed to be branded into her eyelids. The image of the Memorial Tablet in Konoha stood before her and her hands automatically trailed down the tablet to find the name of her father, which had been imprinted there years ago in honor of his sacrifice for the village. She let out an ear-piercing scream when she found another name beside it, the name of her older brother, Hyuga Neji. _

Once again the image shattered and Aya's face was smiling sadistically down at her, "That's one of your current fears. Do you want to see another one?"

"What the hell is this?" The girl cursed shakily.

"Genjutsu." The ghost was smiling as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "My family was known for very realistic genjutsu. You're bleeding a lot more this time."

It was true. Kori felt the tears of blood running down her face. Aya was still smiling, "Are you afraid of dying? I wonder if that's one of your four other fears."

"I don't understand." The young Hyuga gasped out.

"Pain should be bloody and mentally taxing, don't you think?" The girl giggled, "All the pain you feel will drain you of blood and possibly disturb you mentally. If one of your constant fears is your own death, you will be killed by the excruciating pain you experience through my technique. Isn't it great?"

Kori smirked, "That's just great. What happens if I survive through all six of them?"

"I have no other skills. If you overcome all six of your fears, which won't happen, then you'll have to fight me hand to hand. It's a shame I can't move while I'm showing you the images or I would've killed you while you were seeing them. I'll give you a chance to switch with one of your friends. I really don't want to kill someone who's like us."

With a quick glance at her still fearful teammates, who were still trying to get use to the murderous intent in the air, she shook her head, "Hell no."

"Too bad. The severity of the pain you feel will increase with each mirror. Have another taste."

_Her confidence was robbed away just like everything else and the next image was laid out for her. A voice echoed in her mind, "__**Help!**__"_

_Every voice screaming in her head was a familiar one. Hyuga Hiashi's body was lying on the floor in front of her, cold and unmoving. An unknown mass was hanging from a rope on the ceiling but upon closer inspection, her blood ran cold, "Hanabi-sama!"_

"_**Help me!**__"_

"_Hinata-sama!" Kori wished she hadn't seen the girl lying strapped down to a surgery table with a rotating blade inching slowly down from the ceiling above the girl. When she tried to move, she realized that she was chained to a wall, unable to do anything but watch as the saw dropped closer and closer to her cousin's throat, "Stop it! Take me instead!"_

_A shrill scream filled the air for only moments before Hinata's head fell to the floor, detached from the rest of the body. The image of her brother tied to a chair flashed before her eyes and once again, her blood ran cold. He was going to get the electric chair. The image of Aya standing beside him with her finger over the switch was terrifying, "Say your goodbyes."_

"_No! I said take me instead!" The genin screamed, "Damn it! Don't touch him! Neji, move!"_

An ear-piercing scream filled the air once more as her senses were returned to her. Aya was laughing manically in front of her, "You're afraid of watching your family get killed in front of you more than you're afraid of getting killed?! That's a riot!"

"Aya!" Zabuza's commanding voice filled the air, "Damn it! Control yourself! Those images are being shown to us too!"

"Whoops." The crazed girl put a hand over her mouth and hung her head in shame, "Sorry."

Kori spent some time hacking up some blood before scanning the bridge. It seemed to be true. All eyes were turned to her, sympathetic, and all the fighting seemed to have been ceased for a while but it wasn't for long. The mist thickened around them and Sasuke's pained screams filled the air. Kai stepped forward bravely, anger flashing in his eyes, "You're a demon."

Toshizo, who had collapsed onto his knees at some point, staggered to his feet, "Kori-san. It's our turn now."

"Aww… They're not afraid anymore? My taijutsu is pretty good too." Aya was grinning evilly, "Let's fight."

"She's bluffing." Kai's whole body shook with anger and in a flash he had the girl up by the collar of her t-shirt, "I'll kill you."

It was remarkable how one sided their fight was. Kai and his new found bravery had Aya on her knees with just his fists. The normally meek Toshizo was providing a decent support with his shuriken. An angry round-house kick from Kai sent her flying halfway across the bridge and skidding along the ground before she came to a stop unmoving. The two boys turned to their last teammate with passionate stares. Toshizo knelt in front of the girl and grasped her tightly, "I'm so sorry. I-I promise next time, you won't have to protect me."

"What are you talking about?" The girl spoke when Toshizo released her and scooted over, "You guys saved me at the end."

Kai dropped to his knees in front of the girl, his body still shaking with anger and for the first time in his life, he held a girl. He had one arm around her back and the other behind her head as he breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm himself. He flushed when the girl returned his embrace. She laughed softly, "Thanks, Saizo. I owe you one."

He released her slowly before putting a hand over her head, "Whatever, Number five."

The girl laughed, "When did Naruto get here?"

"Who cares?" Kai grunted.

"That's our selfish little Kai."

"Shut up."

* * *

Miserei Yayasuchi thanks for following my story and sorry to disappointed you but I never mentioned her first crush's name and it's not Zabuza. I hope you'll follow my story till the end.


	6. Victory

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed out, "You're late!"

The blonde grinned nervously, "Sorry but you know what they say, the main character and the hero always show up fashionably late!"

Asahina sweat dropped, "What has Kakashi been teaching these kids? He shows up late and on top of that announces his arrival."

A true ninja would've taken advantage of his or her tardiness to take the enemy by surprise rather than announcing their arrival and reason for tardiness. Yui looked fairly amused, "Is that the way they teach shinobi in Konoha?"

"Absolutely not." Asahina barked, shooting Kakashi a glare, "Don't clump my students in with his."

"I won't because your students will end up dead before his." Yui gestured over her shoulder to the ghostly girl behind her, "Aya isn't one to-!"

_The mist seemed to rob her vision, replacing the bridge with images of a dark corridor and one of her students, Hyuga Kori. She could vaguely hear the cry of a feminine voice screaming for help and her student's hurried footsteps. Asahina saw the corpse of Hyuga Hiashi, the current head of the Hyuga Clan. A body was swinging back and forth like it was just freshly hung, Hyuga Hanabi, the youngest daughter of Hiashi. The grinding of a rotating saw caught her attention and by the time she turned her head, the process was done. A head had been severed from the body of whoever was lying on that table. The electric sound of another execution was the last of the strange images._

Zabuza's angry voice boomed through the mist, "Aya! Damn it! Control yourself! Those images are being shown to us too!"

Yui stood before the female jonin, her Tetsuton: Tetsugyakusatsu (Iron Style: Iron Massacre) had deactivated and Asahina realized that her jutsu had fizzed out as well, "Genjutsu?"

"Correct."

Asahina spun around to meet the blade that was heading for her neck. The girl had taken her back faster than she could blink. Yui smirked when her blade sank into the woman's neck but in a burst of flame she was gone and Yui's expression fell, "When did she do that?"

"Over here." Asahina's kunai met with the floor of the bridge but her fist met with the target.

Yui flipped over and **nearly** screamed, "_**She's a monster**__!_"

Yui was forced to slide back under the pressure of Asahina's kick. The silver-haired teen gasped when her heel met with resistance, "Aya! Get up!"

The girl at her feet groaned but didn't move. The mist began to grow thick and the only thing visible was the radiance of Asahina's chakra weaving between her fingers with every sign, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"

Yui threw her comrade over her right shoulder and managed to avoid the radiant fireball that roared toward them. An ear-piercing feminine scream cut through the mist, "Kakashi-sensei!"

Asahina stopped mid-sign and glared over her shoulder but Kakashi was hidden by the thick mist in the area, "Kakashi!"

Yui took her chance, "Tetsuton: Ken no Mai. (Iron Style: Swords Dance)"

Asahina flipped gracefully out of the way as the swords rained down around her, "It looks like I don't have any more time to play with you."

"I suggest you stop joking wi-!" Yui froze, her knees shaking with fear.

A cool metal was stabbing partially into her backside but she could feel something more. When she looked over her shoulder, she let out a feminine scream like Sakura had done moments ago and fell to her knees. Her entire back was on fire, the kunai was the lesser of the two pains and her whole world went black. Asahina shook her head, "Be grateful that I know genjutsu kid, or you would really be burning to death. Although I'm sure you can't hear me anymore."

"Asahina-sensei!" Toshizo approached the woman carefully.

"Yo!" The woman smiled as if nothing had happened, "Kori-chan~ How are you holding up?"

The girl held up a hand to say she was okay, "Just fine."

"Kai, it looks like we were right to keep you." Asahina smiled, "Even Toshizo seems to have grown up. Kori, you were fantastic."

The thick mist cleared away and Squad Nine could now see the men who fought at the other end of the bridge. Kakashi had just managed to get away from Zabuza. The bridge builder was closer to Squad Nine than Kakashi and Toshizo immediately ran over to protect the old man with Sakura. Asahina managed to lock eyes with Kakashi for only a moment and instant panic welled up inside her, "Get down!"

Neither Kai nor Kori had time to react before their able-bodied teacher pushed them in opposite directions. Zabuza's voice filled their ears, "Get out of the way, woman! I'll cut you down first if I have to!"

Asahina threw up her hand to catch the blade, the sharp side stabbing into her palm, "Kakashi, what is wrong with you?!"

The man managed to free his hand from the body of Haku, who he must've killed while the mist was still thick. The male jonin closed the boy's still open eyes, "I didn't realize that your students were so close."

"Yeah right." The woman rolled her eyes, distancing herself from the Demon of the Mist.

Sakura's voice drew the woman's attention, "Naruto! You're alive! Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto looked away, ashamed. Asahina turned her head glance at Kakashi and she didn't like what she saw. His expression was undeniably one of pain but she had no time to comfort him. Zabuza roared, "Kakashi! Your opponent is over here!"

She watched as her students dashed off with Sakura and Tazuna to find Sasuke, leaving Naruto with her, before turning her attention back to Kakashi, "Do you need help?"

"This is my fight." Kakashi growled.

"I understand."

* * *

Kai stood quietly over Sasuke's body, "No way."

Toshizo was stiff, "This is a joke right?"

Sakura was kneeling in front of them touching Sasuke's face with one hand, "He's cold. This is for real."

Kori eyed the girl suspiciously. It seemed that Sakura was on the verge of tears and her teammates stood there quietly like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Kori bent down next to Sakura and checked for a pulse, but there was nothing and true to her word, his skin was cold. The girl blinked her eyes a few times before holding up two fingers, "Byakugan."

Sure enough, it was weak but not gone. Sasuke's chakra was struggling to continue flowing but suddenly his heartbeat was starting up again. She didn't say anything, she was tired, she might've been seeing something that wasn't happening, and she didn't want to get anyone's hopes up for nothing.

"You guys don't have to hold back." Tazuna was sympathetically nodding his head.

"I always scored 100% on my exams at the Academy. One day we took a test and one of the questions was 'Write Down Shinobi Saying #25' and like usual, I scribbled down the right answer." Sakura was smiling sadly.

Kai nodded his head, "I remember that one."

"Me too." Toshizo frowned.

Kori didn't speak up. She couldn't recall a test that asked that but then again, she had been at the Academy for the shortest time of the four of them. Either way she knew the answer.

Sakura continued, "No matter what the situation, a shinobi must keep his/her emotions on the inside. You must always prioritize your mission and carry a heart that never shows tears."

Either way the girl's tears were spilling over and onto Sasuke's face. Kori froze, "Don't cry. That's hypocritical."

Kai knelt down next to her, "You're not going to cry?"

She slapped a hand over Sasuke's chest, "It's not funny anymore, Uchiha Sasuke. Get up."

She could feel it. The boy's body was starting to return to normal temperature but furthermore, his chakra was flowing strongly again. Those things don't happen to a dead man. Her hand could feel the beat of his heart and she smiled, "He'll be okay."

* * *

It was over. Zabuza's arms were no longer movable. Kakashi reached for another kunai so he could finish the man off. "Stop it!"

Aya was standing between Kakashi and Zabuza with her arms spread in his defense, "Don't do it!"

Yui had her blade drawn and was pointing it in Asahina's direction, "Don't move!"

"Zabuza."

"Gato!" The three growled, "What do you think you're doing here?"

A short man stood with a large group of mercenaries towards the end of the bridge. The man cackled, "Change of plans. I'm going to have you all killed right here. I don't intend on paying any of you."

"What?" Zabuza growled.

"What a joke. You're not a Demon, you're a baby." Gato snorted.

"Don't talk to my brother that way." Yui growled.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry. Our fight is over. I no longer have a reason to go after Tazuna so the fight is over." The man grumbled.

"Aahh.."

Asahina bit her tongue. It was over regardless but she didn't want to ruin the mood. Gato seemed to recognize Haku's body, "Oh right. I owe this one something."

Asahina's anger was rising and almost hit the peak when Gato slammed his foot on the boy's head. Naruto voiced her opinion for her, "What the hell are you doing, bastard?!"

Kakashi held the boy back in a tired manner, "Don't just go jumping in. Look at their numbers."

Naruto turned his anger on Zabuza, "You! You say something too! He was your friend wasn't he?!"

"I was used by Gato and Haku was used by me. I have nothing more to say. That's how it is in the shinobi world. There are people who are used and then there are people who use you. Ninjas are tools. I wanted his kekkei genkai not him. I have no regrets."

"You jerk!" Naruto made an attempt to charge at the man.

Kakashi tugged him back lazily, "Stop it. We have no reason to fight him anymore."

"I don't care!" Naruto roared, "He loved you! He said you were his precious person! That you were his reason for fighting, for living! You still don't feel anything?! Dying as a tool is just too sad!"

Asahina frowned but grinned when Kakashi glanced over his shoulder at her. Zabuza was crying. The Demon of the Mist was shedding tears for his fallen comrade, "Kid. That's enough. You don't need to say anymore."

"…"

"I'm glad I got to fight against you guys at the end." Zabuza looked over his shoulder at the red-haired jonin and the copy ninja in turn, "Could you take care of these two for me?"

"Sure." They managed.

"Zabuza!" Aya and Yui were against everything and they clung to the man as if their lives depended on it.

Asahina pulled Aya off the man leaving Kakashi to restrain Yui to the best of his abilities. Zabuza nodded his thanks, "Hey, kid. Lend me a kunai."

"Sure." Naruto tossed him a blade.

"NO!" Yui screamed, continuing to struggle in Kakashi's iron grip. Aya had stopped moving and stood almost completely in shock as her mature friend returned to being the child that she was meant to be. "No! Zabuza! You promised that we would always go back together! Zabuza!"

Zabuza clenched the weapon between his teeth, before looking back at the girl, "Zabuza? Is that the way you talk to your brother? Call me like you used to, just one more time."

"…Onii-chan."

"That's my sister."

Tears streamed down her face but she didn't look away. This was going to be her last memory of Zabuza and she wasn't going to miss any of it. Gato screeched as Zabuza rushed toward him, "Enough! Kill him!"

With a battle cry, the army of mercenaries charged forward to kill the Demon of the Mist. Yui watched on as sword after sword met with Zabuza's back. Aya smiled crazily, he looked like a giant demon porcupine. She resolved to own a porcupine someday. Zabuza had been the first person to tell her that she was interesting rather than creepy. He didn't find anything wrong with the fact that she was a sadist or that she sometimes acted like a masochist. He was the reason she lived, the reason she fought. He gave her friends when she had nobody. Aya was crying but she was smiling at the same time. Right there, she resolved to live on for Zabuza and Haku.

As Zabuza stabbed Gato in the chest, successfully killing the man, Yui smiled. She remembered a time when she had almost rolled on the floor laughing when Zabuza had told her that he liked Aya. She constantly had to remind her brother that he was double her age and he had always said that he was aware but it didn't seem to disinterest him. At the time, she had laughed at him and called him a pedophile but now it was her reason for living. She resolved to protect the girl that her brother loved until she found someone else to protect her. One day, Aya should fall in love with someone and until that day, Yui would protect her with every ounce of strength in her body.

As Zabuza collapsed only a little ways away, the girls solidified their resolve.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was sobbing loudly despite her previous statements and Sasuke had yet to move.

Kori's Byakugan protested against Sasuke's death, and being overused, screaming that he was still alive. Sasuke's shaky voice confirmed her suspicions, "Sakura… You're heavy."

"Welcome back." The blue-haired genin flopped onto her butt beside him, her eyes returning to their natural pale color.

"Sasuke-kun!" The girl was screaming again, sobbing happily.

"What happened?" Sasuke sat up, shakily, "That masked kid."

"He's dead." Sakura dried her tears.

"Naruto got him?"

"No. Kakashi-sensei did."

Kai rolled his eyes, "There's no way someone like Naruto could kill someone you couldn't beat. You were our number one."

"I know." Sakura squealed, "You must've dodged the attacks at the last minute so you didn't take any critical damage!"

Judging by the look on Sasuke's face, that wasn't the case but no one said anything. Sakura was practically jumping with joy, "Naruto! He's alive! Sasuke-kun lived!"

"Ehhh?" Naruto looked like he was about to do as Sakura had done only moments ago.

Sasuke lifted his arm, awkwardly acknowledging his teammate. Asahina inclined her head to the Uchiha slightly, "Kakashi, he's okay."

The man looked over his shoulder with a relieved look, "Sasuke was okay after all."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't get all happy yet!" One of Gato's remaining men slurred, "You took out our source of revenue, you damn ninjas! Now we have to attack the village and steal all their money."

"Kakashi-sensei! Don't you have an attack that can take them all out at once?" Naruto looked desperately back at his teacher.

"Can't. I used too much chakra already."

"I can do it." Asahina cracked her neck a few times, "I haven't fought enough today."

The copy ninja grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk by, "That won't be necessary."

As the mercenaries rushed forward with a loud battle cry, a steel arrow imbedded itself in front of them on the hard surface of the bridge. The entire village seemed to be gathered on the other end of the bridge, "If you come any closer to this village, you'll face the entire force of this island!"

"Inari!" Naruto was grinning madly, "You came!"

"Heroes are always supposed to show up late!" The boy grinned right back.

Asahina sweat dropped, "They're starting to resemble each other. That's horrible."

"Yoshaaa!" Naruto turned and created his favorite sign, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Jutsu)"

Naruto had just created five identical copies of himself. Kakashi nodded, "I guess I can spare some chakra as a bluff. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Asahina backed away slowly. No matter how much she loved Kakashi, the dozens of clones were unnecessary. To be honest, she really didn't like it when he used that technique. Having to look at dozens of the exact same person was disgusting. Needless to say, his plan worked but it was still disgusting. The mercenaries turned and ran in the opposite direction of the village with their tails between their legs.

Yui and Aya approached the body of their comrade with heavy steps. Yui knelt down next to her brother, "Zab- Onii-chan… It's over."

The man managed to let out a grunt, "Yeah."

Aya began to remove the weapons that stabbed into his backside, "Zabuza. Let's go see Haku."

"Yeah."

Kakashi knelt down and helped the girls lift Zabuza and carry him to the already dead boy's body. He knelt down to gently place Zabuza next to Haku, who had died with a smile on his face. The snow was beginning to fall. Asahina frowned, "That boy…"

Aya looked up with a smile, "Haku. You don't have to cry. Let's all meet up again someday."

Yui frowned. Would they all go to the same place? Was that even possible? Someone as kind as Haku would definitely go to heaven but what about the rest of them? The two girls stood beside their friends until Zabuza took his last breath.

Kakashi leaned over and whispered, "Doesn't that remind you of something?"

"No." The woman lied. Asahina had watched several people die. In fact, she had lived through a war. It was only natural that she had lost several friends during that time. She didn't want to remember the death of her first crush.

"I'm sorry." Kakashi had slipped his hand into hers, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." She rolled her eyes. She shed enough tears as a child to last a lifetime. She was done with that.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto was pointing at the two with a teasing grin, "What are you doing? Hmm?"

"Naruto!" Sakura pounded the boy over the head, "Way to go, you loser!"

Asahina suddenly realized that their students were staring at her intently as Kakashi stood by laughing in his normally aloof way. Naruto snickered, "Are you Kakashi-sensei girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" She rolled her eyes, "No one wants to be this guy's girlfriend."

Kakashi's hand slid out of hers, jokingly holding his hand out to Sakura and then Kori in turn, "Them."

"Kakashi-sensei's a player!" Naruto laughed, clutching his stomach.

"Naruto-san!" Toshizo scolded the boy, "That's rude."

Asahina elbowed her childhood friend in the side, "You're being a bad influence and stop flirting with my student."

"Sensei… Are you being jealous?" Kai smirked.

"You little brat." Asahina turned around with her arms crossed.

"She's embarrassed." Naruto's grin just couldn't get any bigger.

"Embarrassed." Kakashi repeated, teasingly.

Yui and Aya were both staring at the group in an amused manner and Asahina turned back towards her student's awkwardly, "Is it just me or are they laughing at me?"

"They're staring cause you're embarrassed." Kai snorted.

"Embarrassed." Kakashi repeated again.

"Shut up! You freaking parrot!" Asahina's foot connected with his shin and the man doubled over in pain.

"I knew it was going to be a long day."


	7. Finally Home

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

A clear breeze made clothes flutter happily. The graves of Haku and Zabuza were standing erect on a cliff overlooking the sea and bridge. Aya and Yui knelt in front of the grave, their wounds from the fight already cleaned and dressed. Squads 7 and 9 stood behind the girls, offering their final prayers to the two fallen shinobi. Sakura was just putting the finishing touches on their graves, "I was wondering, Kakashi-sensei… Does a ninja really have to be like these two said?"

"Ninja are not supposed to look for their reason for existence." Kakashi lectured, "It's important that ninja exist as tools and it's the same in Konoha too."

"Does becoming a real ninja mean that we have to be like that?" Naruto frowned, "I don't like that! I don't want to."

"Do you think so too?" Sasuke's question was directed at the two jonin.

"Well… No." Kakashi turned his head toward the graves, "That's why ninja are always suffering from that idea."

"I think our rules give us no choice but to be tools." Asahina mused, "But it's not like everyone follows those rules."

"All right!" Naruto screamed, "I'm going to run straight down the path that won't have regrets!"

* * *

The mist had long cleared and the bridge was finished. The sun was shining down on the genin with a warm pride as they headed for home. Yui and Aya stood by quietly, waiting for their new guardians as promised. Tazuna thanked them again, "Thanks to you guys we completed the bridge but now you have to go. We'll miss you greatly."

"We'll come visit again!" Naruto waved happily.

"Promise?" Inari looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"You're making the boy cry…" Kori rolled her eyes, "Some hero."

"You're going to be lonely right?" Naruto had exact same face as the little boy, "You can just cry."

"You can cry!" Inari shot back.

Asahina sweat dropped, "They really are alike."

"Bye!" Naruto turned around, tears and snot running down his face.

Toshizo was satisfied with the way the bridge turned out. He smiled at the thought of crossing a bridge that they helped build, even though he hadn't really done any of the work. He stretched his arms, "I'm going to eat like a king when I go home."

"Then I'm going to make Iruka-sensei treat me to ramen!" Naruto looked extremely happy just at the thought of that.

"Then…" Sakura pushed Kakashi out of the way to talk to Sasuke, "When we get back to Konoha, do you want to go on a date with me?"

"No. I refuse." He kept walking as if he hadn't just destroyed a girl's dream.

"And I was the Academy heart-breaker?" Kai grumbled.

"Hey! I'll go on a date with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto jumped at the thought.

"Shut up!" The girl shoved him out of the way too, "No one wants to go on a date with you! I was asking Sasuke-kun!"

"Last place when it comes to girls too." Kai smirked.

"What did you say?!"

"He's got a point." Kori nodded.

"Looks like we graduated in order of popularity too." Kai snorted.

"Looks like you're forever number two then…" Sakura mentioned, accidently.

He shot her a deadly glare, "What?"

"Eep. Nothing, Kai-kun." She backed away from the boy.

"Calm down, Kai-san." Toshizo calmed the boy quickly.

"Whatever."

"…"

"No, but really. Sakura-chan! Let's go on a date!" Naruto grinned.

Only Toshizo had the decency to save the boy from another fury of attacks. A few steps behind them were Kakashi, Asahina, Yui and Aya. The two girls seemed amused by the antics of the genin. Kakashi was giving them that awkward eye-smile of his, "So…. I'm Hatake Kakashi."

"We know." Yui was curt and serious.

"Hikawa Asahina."

"We know you too."

"Well… Isn't this awkward?" Kakashi laughed awkwardly.

"Hey!" Aya suddenly pointed her finger in the direction of their student's, "I want to know their names."

Suddenly, Naruto froze and spun around with a smug smile on his face, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The future Hokage!"

"Oh… Maybe I should've been more specific… I could care less about you guys…" Aya pointed right at the person she was curious about.

The girl pointed to herself, "Me? Hyuga Kori, didn't I tell you my name earlier?"

"… Just in case you don't tell your real name to enemies." Aya's lips turned up in a ghost of a smile, "And you?"

"Saizo Kai."

"Okay!"

Yui could see the gears turning in her friend's head. Aya was already plotting some sort of revenge against them and it wasn't a good thing. The girl was sadistic and she knew it. Sometimes the girl took her playful revenge plots too far and ended up hurting people she didn't mean to hurt. Kori and Kai might have to be very careful.

* * *

Asahina got the lecture of a lifetime as soon as the Hokage found out that she took her students on a dangerous, unauthorized mission to save Kakashi's team. She bowed her head and took the lecture without any words of regret. Kakashi stood beside her quietly until he finished lecturing her, "Hokage-sama. We have another problem."

"Another problem." He sighed, "What would that be?"

The old man's eyes widened when two Kirigakure shinobi stepped into the room quietly. Asahina gestured toward each of them, "Momochi Yui and Hanzo Aya, sir. They lost their family and have nowhere else to go."

"They're rogue ninja, Asahina." The Hokage scolded her, "You can't just expect me to take them in like this."

"I understand but I will take full responsibility for their actions if you can just allow them to stay."

"Your mother wouldn't allow two rogue ninjas to stay at your house, especially not Ninjas from the Hidden Mist."

"That's where I come in." Kakashi held up his hand and stepped forward, "They can stay at my place until they can find their own. I have space."

"And how exactly will they find their own place without any money?" The old man was catching on fast.

"They're both very talented and would probably make great genin in Ko-!"

"Absolutely not."

"Hokage-sama~" Asahina whined. The old man was never so strict with those kinds of rules to begin with. He often took in refugees. He was kind and she expected him to say yes right away since they were two little girls, "Please."

"No."

"Naruto…" Asahina sighed, "Come on in."

The boy stepped in with a wild smirk, "Oiroke no Jutsu. (Sexy Jutsu)"

Asahina had her hand over Kakashi's eye in a split second. The Hokage was not so lucky, or maybe one could say he was? The old man got a full view of Naruto's version of a sexy NAKED lady. The Hokage proceeded to nosebleed and agree immediately, "O-okay! They can stay!"

"And?" Asahina motioned for Naruto to go closer.

"And they can be ninja! Here! Take them!" The Hokage threw out two of Konoha's very own forehead protectors, "Get out!"

"Alrighty! Let's go get these guys settled in then." Asahina dragged the girls out the door, leaving Kakashi to apologize before following after them.

Aya waved her new headband around happily, "Real ninja!"

Yui replaced her headband in a much calmer manner, "Well… Now what?"

"I don't know how strong you guys are but you'll have to start from the bottom. As genin." Kakashi had managed to rejoin them after a scolding from the Hokage.

"The two of you will stay at Kakashi's house for now." Asahina snatched the book from Kakashi's hand, "If you girls end up feeling uncomfortable at this perverts house we'll find you a new place to stay."

"The two of you will be put into Asahina's squad."

"If we're staying at your house wouldn't it be easier to be in your squad?" Yui rolled her eyes, "The complexity of this village is astounding."

"That was an insult wasn't it?" Kori approached the group with her hands in her pockets, "Looks like we're teammates now."

"It appears so."

"Did you always talk like that?" Toshizo waved as he ran over.

"I suppose not."

"Who cares about them?" Kai spat, "Great… More girls."

"Does he not like girls?" Aya had replaced her headband and calmly stood beside her friend, "Gay?"

Kai's nose wrinkled at the accusation, "You should be saying that to Naruto and Sasuke! Not me."

Naruto, who has run off to gather his teammates, finally rejoined them, "HEY! I'm not gay!"

"Now you have to resort to telling lies about me, Number 2." Sasuke snorted.

Kai jabbed a finger at the boy's chest, "This guy had his first kiss with Naruto."

"It was an accident!" Naruto screamed.

"But it was funny." Kori laughed.

Sakura shot glares at the other girl, "Sasuke-kun's first kiss was supposed to be mine."

Kai had Naruto in a headlock, "How was it, dead last? Did Sasuke seem to be a good kisser?"

"Kai-san!" Toshizo waved his arms around in a flustered manner, "That's not nice."

"Why are you so interested in Sasuke anyways?!" Naruto squirmed under the boy's grip, "You love Sasuke!"

Kai slammed the boy to the floor, "Absolutely not! You Sasuke-kisser!"

"I didn't kiss him! He kissed me!"

"You're a dunce! I didn't kiss you!" Sasuke growled, "You're the one who stuck your face into mine!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Kori whistled.

"Kya~ Sasuke-kun vs. Kai-kun! Who do I cheer for? They're both so handsome!" Sakura shuffled her feet awkwardly, "But Sasuke-kun is the better one."

"Stop fighting!" Toshizo jumped around being ignored.

Aya laughed, slapping her friend's arm happily, "They're so funny."

Asahina and Kakashi exchanged glances, "We're a public disturbance."

"Don't get arrogant cause you're Number 1!" Kai shoved Naruto to the side, "I'll kick your ass!"

"Don't push me!" Naruto stomped back in between the two.

Sasuke shoved the blonde away with one hand, "I'd like to see you try!"

Kakashi sighed, "I guess it's time to stop them."

Too late. A mature yet feminine giggle had all heads turned in the direction of the new genin arrivals. Kai huffed, releasing Sasuke's collar, "She's laughing at you."

Sasuke pulled his arm away from the boy's neck, "She's laughing at you."

Yui clutched her stomach with one arm and held the other in front of her mouth as she laughed. Aya stood beside the girl with a smile as her friend continued to laugh for the first time in a while. Naruto's face had turned slightly pink, "She's cute."

Toshizo nodded silently, "Mhmm…"

"What part of that is cute?" Kai grumbled to himself, his face also subconsciously turning colors.

Sasuke was staring silently as Sakura shot glares at the girl. She glanced between the boys and the giggling girl with a growl, "She's not that pretty, right Kori?"

"I think she's pretty." The blue-haired Hyuga backed away when the girl turned her glare in her direction.

"Cute." Kakashi's closed-eyed smile earned him a glare.

"Kakashi." Asahina smacked his arm, "She's going to be living at your house, don't try anything."

He laughed nervously, "I wasn't going to do anything."

"Humph." The female jonin turned away childishly.

* * *

Aya sighed, holding a black garbage bag in her hand, "We have to pick garbage out of the river?"

"Ahh… So this is what you do in Konoha…" Yui nodded at her tongs oddly.

Naruto danced around the girl, waving his own bag around, "Yui-chan… Let's go pick up garbage together!"

"Is that how you pick up garbage in Konoha?"

"Nah… But it's easier if you help each other out." Kori pulled the already full bag from Kai's hand, "Good work, Saizo."

Asahina shoved Kakashi into the river next to the genin, "No book for you. Help them if you're bored."

He sighed and plopped down next to the river, "No thanks. I've done my share of garbage collecting."

"Liar." Asahina could never remember a time where Kakashi was considered genin level. Even when he was a genin, he was a boy genius. Kakashi's "fair share" could've been only once or twice for all she knew.

Yui held the bag open as Naruto and Sasuke shoved empty cans, plastic bags, and similar articles of garbage in, "Are you supposed to compete like that?"

"Again, no." Kori smiled when Sasuke and Naruto grabbed for the same can and ended up glaring at each other, "It's just more fun that way."

"Interesting."

Rather than collecting garbage, Aya was playing in the middle of the river where there was no garbage, "Yui! It's fun!"

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Probably not…" Kori shrugged, "But if you want, you can."

"Konoha is strange… You're allowed to play during missions…"

"You're not allowed to but you can." The Hyuga repeated, accepting another bag from Kai, "Good work, Saizo."

He grunted in response snatching the can from under Sasuke's nose, "Mine."

"That was mine!" Naruto jabbed his tongs accusingly at the taller boy.

"Too slow." He shrugged.

Sasuke just glared at the boy but returned to picking up the rest of the garbage. Sakura sighed happily, "Isn't he so dreamy?"

"Saizo?" Kori accepted yet another dirty bag, tying it off again, "Or Sasuke?"

"Sasuke-kun, of course!" Sakura squealed, "No one could be more attractive than Sasuke-kun."

Kai's shoulder twitched in annoyance, "Well sorry th-!"

"Saizo's better." Kori rolled her eyes.

The silvery blonde's face flushed and he turned back around without a word. Sakura giggled and leaned over to whisper, "Do you like Kai-kun?"

"No." The Hyuga facial expression swatted the idea out of the pink haired girl's head, "He's on my team so naturally, I have to say he's better and you have to say Sasuke better."

Yui nodded skeptically, "Is that how it works in Konoha? Then must I say that Saizo Kai is more physically attractive?"

"Yes."

"No!" Sakura shot the first answer down, "It's just an opinion thing."

"Saizo… You slowed down." Kori laughed, accepting a few bags from Toshizo, who made his way back to them from a little further up the river.

"Slowed down?" He asked.

"If you're tired we can switch." The girl ignored her teammate's question.

"Tired already, Kai?" Sasuke smirked, waving his almost full bag at the silvery blonde.

A massive shiver ran down the boy's spine, "Sasuke… I could do this for days!"

"Only days?" Naruto jumped up, "I could do this for weeks!"

"Months!" Kai growled.

"Alright." Sasuke snorted, "You idiots can do this for as long as you like. I've got more important missions to go on."

Kori laughed, "Way to go, Uchiha. That's showing them."

"I thought you stated previously that we always have to be on Kai's side." Yui grumbled.

"Whoops… Boo Sasuke! You suck."

"Sasuke?" The Uchiha smirked, "That's a first."

The Hyuga girl just smirked back, "Are you implying that you were paying attention to the way I called your name?"

He snorted, "It was annoying."

"How I didn't drool over you and scream 'Sasuke-kun!' every time you walked by?"

"…" He shot her a glare.

"What? You have Sakura for that don't you?"

His glare was starting to burn into her eyes. Sasuke didn't really like the fact that girls followed him around the Academy or screamed every time he walked by and Kori knew it. Both he and Kai knew that she wasn't the type to drool over anyone. That's why they liked her. She wasn't like the other girls and they didn't mind being her friend as long as she didn't turn into one of them.

Kai snorted, "Is that your way of hitting on her? Pathetic."

"What?" Sasuke growled, "Say it again."

"Pathetic."

Sakura glared at the Hyuga, "Kori… You can't steal my Sasuke-kun away from me."

"I wasn't trying to…" The blue haired girl backed away.

Unbeknownst to the genin, Kakashi and Asahina were discussing some crucial material. The male jonin sighed, "Asahina, are you serious?"

"The chunin exams are coming up. I'd like them all to try." The woman nodded.

"You know the exam isn't easy…"

"You know… When someone like you says something like that, it sounds like you're lying."

"What are you talking about?"

"You became a chunin at the age of six." Asahina rolled her eyes, "You can't say it was hard! You genius!"

"Hmm… I'd say the genius is you." He smiled.

"Uh no." She had graduated from the academy at the age of eight and then jumped to being a chunin the very same year. At the age of fourteen she had managed to become a jonin but was not allowed to teach any genin until a few years ago.

"Hmm? How old are you again?" He snickered, "If you compare your age to mine, you're the genius."

"Twenty-three, you old man!" She smacked his hand away as he reached for the book in her lap, "We're not talking about us. We're talking about them. Uchiha Sasuke is definitely ready for it."

"Naruto isn't too far behind either." Kakashi chuckled.

"That leaves Sakura?"

He sighed, "She's not like you… I expected her to be a little better but she's not that bad either. She'll be fine if they work together. Hyuga Kori on the other hand, seems to be adequate."

"Adequate? I asked around about her and Iruka told me that she started attending the academy years after the other kids. She started two years ago when she was ten."

"She's not the same age as the rest of them?" Kakashi mused.

"She's turning thirteen a few months from now but yeah… She's a few months younger."

"Then if she had started at the same time as the rest of them… She might've been the Number 1 graduate…"

"Possibly." Asahina nodded, "Still we can't deny that Kai is strong and with the whole Zabuza incident, Kai has grown as well."

"His clan must be proud of him."

"They should be." She smiled, "I was worried about Toshizo but it looks like he's a good support for the two of them."

"Now that you explain it all like this… It seems much easier to believe that they're all ready for the exams…"

"Of course."

"Asahina-sensei! Kakashi-sensei! We're done!"

"Great! Let's go home!"


	8. Konoha and The Foreign Ninjas

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

Kori sighed, counting her money from the week's missions, "Man…"

Neji lifted an eyebrow at her, "What?"

"Neji? How much do you make?" The girl flopped down next to her brother remembering that she had gone on twenty-eight missions so far and she still didn't have a lot of money.

Neji sat in a more refined way but made sure to face her before answering, "Enough… Why do you ask?"

"Hinata-sama lives in a nice house and we kind of… don't…"

He lifted his eyebrow again, "Do you want to live in the same house?"

"No… But don't you?"

He sighed, "No."

"But you said-!"

"I didn't say anything about the actual house. I just said I wanted to be part of the main branch." He cut her off by slapping his hand over her mouth, "But it's not a big deal anymore."

"What? Why not?"

He untied her forehead protected to reveal her unmarked forehead, "You're unmarked."

She laughed when he ran a finger over her forehead and replaced her headband, "I'd rather have the mark…"

"Well… I'd rather not." He sighed, "I'd rather be made fun of then in danger of death."

She rolled her eyes, "I'd rather be part of this family than made fun of."

"Go on your mission." Her brother grunted.

"We don't have one today! Asahina-sensei grumbled something about last minute hawk-calls and told us we have the day off." She rolled onto her brother's futon, "So I'll be here bothering you today."

"Great." He growled sarcastically, "Hey! Spar with me."

"One round." She jumped up, "If I win then you go grocery shopping today."

"Taijutsu only." He slid the door open and leapt into the barren ground outside their compound.

"Just the way I wanted it." She rolled her eyes as her brother crouched in the neutral position, "Ladies first."

"Very funny." He growled.

Kori flipped out of the way as her brother's palm struck forward. She crouched, ducked, slid, jumped, and span out of the way as he let out a flurry of attacks. Neji's eyes narrowed when the girl finally struck back. She laughed, "Now this is more fun than picking up garbage."

He let out a grunt when his sister's palm connected with his side, "You're faster than before."

"Well I'd hope so. Training always has to pay off." She yelped when his hand slammed into her shoulder and ducked, "Not the face!"

His jaw cracked when his sister's fist slammed into his jaw, "You're the one who said 'not the face'!"

"Sorry." She shrugged, holding her hands up innocently.

He growled and knocked his sister to the floor, "You're not getting away with that."

She reached up and rubbed her brother's jaw, "Sorry. I'll go."

He snorted and helped her up, rubbing his jaw himself, "Fine. Hurry back."

Kori sighed, "Yes sir."

The blue haired girl ran into her room and grabbed her wallet, shoving it her pocket before shooting out the door. The usual supermarket wasn't on the opposite side of the village or anything but it was still a fair distance from her house. Making the trip to and from the market wasn't something she liked to do every day but Neji didn't seem to want to do it either and someone had to go. She sighed, "I just had to smack him in the face."

"Kori!"

She spun around to greet Kiba, "Kiba! What are you doing here?"

"Kurenai-sensei gave us the rest of the day off." He answered as Akamaru barked happily.

She rolled her eyes when he approached her, "And you're going somewhere?"

"Buying chips." He gave her his usual grin, "Akamaru wanted to go for a walk and I had to buy chips and cookies for my sister."

"Aren't you the sweet brother?" She snorted.

He threw his arm over her shoulders, "Are you jealous cause Neji's a jerk?"

"He's not a jerk." Her nose twitched at the change in scent, "You smell like sweat."

"Opps. Sorry." He dropped his arm, "We had training this morning. I heard you got new teammates."

"Nothing to apologize about." She threw a few items into her basket and turned into the next aisle, "Momochi Yui and Hanzo Aya."

"Hmm… Are they cute?" He snickered when she shot him a glare, "But seriously, are they?"

"Sure." Kori shrugged, "But don't go hitting on my teammates…"

"Can I meet them?" His boyish grin just kept getting bigger.

"Sure." She rolled her eyes, "But I'm not introducing you."

"You're no fun."

She threw her basket onto the counter next to the cashier, "Who cares?"

Kori handed the woman behind the counter a few bills in exchange for the brown paper bag filled with her groceries. Kiba followed her out, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No thanks." She snorted, "You live the opposite way."

"If you say so." He shrugged and waved, "Bye."

"Yeah. See you…" As soon as he was out of sight, a scream snapped to her ears, "What the heck is that?"

She ran toward the sound only to find that Naruto, Sakura and some kids were getting into trouble with two ninja from another country. Her eyes narrowed at the marks on their headbands. Sand Ninja! One ninja was holding a child at least four feet in the air with one hand. The man was in all black, a hood over his head, and some sort of purple marking on his face. He carried something that looked like a dead body on his back but she ignored that and turned her attention to the girl standing next to him. She appeared to be more normal looking. Her sandy colored hair and tight white clothing made her appear less dangerous. She carried a long weapon on her back. Kori recognized the boy as Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage. She growled, "What the heck are they doing?"

As she neared the shinobi, she heard the man in black say, "I'm going to break you kids."

"Not if I break you first!" Kori growled, letting a shuriken fly.

Konohamaru's scarf was cut but he dropped to the ground safely and ran toward her, "Kori nee-chan!"

"Why you little brat!" The retrieved the shuriken and flung it right back toward her.

Kori shoved Konohamaru out of the way but gasped when she was pulled off her feet and into the tree above, "Who… Sasuke?"

He tossed pebble up and down, holding the Hyuga in his other hand, "What do you guys think you're doing in someone else's village?"

"You're annoying too." The foreign ninja grumbled.

Sasuke crumbled the rock in his hand and opened it up slowly, allowing the dust to spill, "Get lost."

"Kya~" Sakura squealed, "Sasuke-kun's so cool!"

"Hey, you!" The man growled, "Come down! I hate kids like you who think they're all that."

"I'll get him." Kori gasped when Sasuke pulled her back toward him.

"Stop." He commanded roughly.

The man in black pulled the appendage from his back and held it next to him, "I'm going to kill you both."

"Kankuro, stop."

The two genin in the tree gasped and spun around to find the owner of the deep, raspy voice. Kori hissed, "When did he get there?"

A boy not any older than the rest of the Konoha genin had his feet firmly planted on the underside of the branch behind them. He hung upside down but his short red hair seemed unaffected by the gravity. Kori subconsciously lifted a hand to feel her eyebrows when she noticed he didn't have any but he did have a tattoo on one side of his forehead. He wore all brown, a brown t-shirt and brown pants. Some sort of gourd was strapped to his back. Sasuke grip on her tightened, "He's quieter than Kakashi."

"You're a disgrace to the village." The red head said, "Why did you even come here?"

"Listen, Gaara." The one that he called Kankuro spoke up, "These guys started it."

"Shut up." He snapped, "I'll kill you."

Kankuro proceeded to apologize, "I got it. I'm sorry."

"You guys. Excuse them." The red head turned his head and locked eyes with the Hyuga girl and Sasuke in turn. His teal eyes were assessing them. Gaara turned to sand and dropped down to ground level to join the other two, "Let's go. We didn't come here to mess around."

"Wait!" Sakura barked with a new found confidence now that Sasuke was around, "You guys are from the Sand right? We may have a treaty with your land but shinobi are forbidden from crossing into different lands. What are you doing here? Depending on your reason, I-!"

The girl sighed, "We're genin from the Sand but we have a valid reason for being here."

Kori eyed the girl's pass, "That?"

"That's right. We came to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams."

"The Chunin Exams?" Naruto turned his head to the side.

"It's the exam that determines who moves up and becomes a chunin." Kori grumbled, "Don't act stupid in front of other village's ninja."

"Hey, you!" Sasuke pulled the girl out of the tree with him, "What's your name?"

"Me?" The girl blushed.

"No the one next to you, with the gourd."

"Sabaku no Gaara." He turned around to lock eyes with both Sasuke and Kori, "I'm interested in the two of you as well. Your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He smirked.

Gaara turned his intense gaze onto the Hyuga girl next, "And you?"

She glared right back at him, "Hyuga Kori."

"Hey! Hey! What about me?" Naruto grinned.

"Not interested." Gaara turned around and continued to walk away without looking back.

* * *

"Now that the Chunin Exams are starting again, we have some business to take care of." The Hokage sat behind a desk cloaked in a red cloth, a crowd of jonin standing in front of him, "Those of you that are in charge of new genin, step forward."

The four jonin stepped forward and the Hokage continued, "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Asahina. Are there any students that you want to enter into the exams? You may know this already but any genin that have gone on eight or more missions can participate in the exams through your recommendations but I recommend that they should have done twice that amount. Then let's start with Kakashi."

Kakashi held two fingers in front of his face, one almost touching his lips, "From Squad Seven consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I recommend all of them to take the exams under my name, Hatake Kakashi."

The next teacher in line began, "Squad Eight consisting of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I recommend all three of them to take the exam under my name, Yuuhi Kurenai."

Asahina lifted two fingers and held them to her lips like the previous two jonin, "From Squad Nine, Saizo Kai, Hyuga Kori, and Tsukara Toshizo. I recommend all three of them to take the Chunin Selection Exams under my name, Hikawa Asahina."

"From Squad Ten, the squad that I lead, I recommend Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji to take the Chunin Exam under my name, Sarutobi Asuma." The final man spoke through his teeth, still clenching a cigarette between his lips.

Immediately the jonin standing behind them burst out into pandemonium, "No way. It's been so long since rookie ninja were recommended. They must be crazy."

"Please wait!" Iruka stepped forward in a panic, "Excuse me but twelve of the kids that had their names called just now were students of mine back at the academy. It may be true that they're all very talented but it's too early for any of them to take the exam! They need more experience before they take the exam!"

"I became a chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto." Kakashi turned on the man.

"He's not the only one. I became a chunin when I was eight and on top of that I graduated from the academy only a few months earlier." Asahina glanced over her shoulder at the chunin, "I don't see what the problem is."

"Naruto is different from you two!" Iruka stepped forward to meet them head on, "Are you trying to ruin that boy?!"

"They may complain a lot. Putting them in a dangerous situation could be interesting and ruining them could be fun too." Kakashi looked dead serious.

"What did you say?! My students aren't just toys for your amusement!"

"It was a joke." Kakashi didn't lose the expression on his face that said he was serious, "Either way, Iruka-sensei, I understand what you're saying but…"

"Kakashi." Kurenai turned toward the white haired man, "Stop it."

"Don't interfere! They're not your students any more. They're my students now!" He appeared slightly offended that Iruka kept saying they were his students even though they had graduated.

The meeting flew by and Kakashi stood outside the building with Asahina, Asuma, and Kurenai discussing the preliminary exam. Asahina smacked Kakashi's arm, "You just had to go and pick a fight with Iruka!"

He laughed nonchalantly, "It's not really a big deal is it?"

Kurenai sighed, "Well…. I'm leaving first."

"Oh… Okay." Asuma waved behind him as he trailed off after Kurenai.

Kakashi sighed in an annoyed manner, "I didn't pick a fight with him."

"I know." She grabbed his arm, "You're so cool sometimes. It bugs you how he keeps insisting that they're his students, right?"

Kakashi nodded slowly. Asahina giggled. Kakashi wasn't the type of person to torture people for fun. He was too kind for that. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were his first group of genin. He liked them and fought with them and got to know them. They were comrades. Kakashi wasn't the type of person to send someone to their death. There was no way that he would recommend them for the exam if he didn't believe they had a chance at survival. She clutched his arm tightly and he hummed in response, "Asahina… Do you think I did the right thing?"

"Of course." She frowned, "It's a shame I couldn't recommend Yui and Aya too."

"Hokage-sama wouldn't let you?"

"They didn't do eight missions yet and he won't let them take the exams until he trusts that they aren't spies of some sort." She dragged him down the street, "We're going to buy food for those girls at your place right?"

"Yeah…"

"Let's go!"

* * *

Kakashi pushed the door open and let the red haired jonin into his apartment, "It's clean now that they're around."

Asahina blushed and turned her head away from the man. The last time she had been there, his boxers were strewn all over the place and an explicit magazine was sitting on his table. She didn't mind the boxers much after going to his house for years but the magazine was a first. Yui looked up from her book as the two jonin entered the room, "Welcome home, Kakashi."

Asahina twitched slightly, "Kakashi?"

"It's a bother for them to call me Kakashi-sensei all the time. They aren't even my students." The man explained.

"I see." She nodded, "Don't forget that we're meeting at the Dango Shop tomorrow."

Yui made an acknowledging sound, "Understood."

"Where's Aya?" Kakashi asked.

"She's in the room." Yui returned to reading her book, "She said she finds your clothing interesting but I don't believe that it's as interesting as when I do the laundry."

Asahina's eyebrow twitched, "What is she talking about?"

"Ahaha… I don't let Aya look into my underwear drawer." Kakashi laughed, "But Yui does the laundry so she's bound to see it someday."

"I see…"

"Yui. Take the bag from Asahina."

"Whatever you say." The silver haired girl pulled the brown bag from the older woman's arms and set it on the counter beside the sink, "Kakashi, do you have any normal books?"

"Ahaha…" He laughed nervously, "What do you consider normal?"

"A book where the character doesn't make out with all the guys she meets. Or maybe a book where there are no naked women."

Kakashi waved his arms around in a panic before dragging the girl off to the side, "That's taboo when Asahina is around."

"Why?" Yui whispered.

"It just is." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back to the table, "Asahina! Do you want…?"

"KAKASHI!" Asahina slapped the man's back, "She's only thirteen!"

He laughed nervously, "I didn't tell her to read it!"

"I cannot imagine there being a problem with reading…" Yui grumbled.

"There isn't a problem with reading but there's a problem with that book you're reading." She pointed an accusing finger in Kakashi's direction, "You're a pervert!"

Kakashi laughed nervously, "I think it's time for dinner! Asahina will you be staying?"

"I hope not." She retorted, "I'm going home as soon as I make sure you're not putting these girls through torturous situations."

"Ahaha…. If you say so." His eyes trailed after her as she made her way to his room.

"Do you enjoy being scolded, Kakashi?" Yui plopped down next to the man.

His eye wandered the kitchen slightly before he leaned over and whispered, "That's the only way she'll pay attention to me."

Yui nodded slowly, "So… Is it safe to presume that you act this way on purpose?"

"Ahaha… Sometimes…" He smiled, "You're a smart kid."

Yui smiled when he reached over and patted her head, "Hmm… She's not going to like the fact that we all sleep in the same room… Aya's undergarments are probably lying all over your bed…"

"Ohh…" Kakashi was already nervously laughing as Asahina's presence returned.

The female jonin was holding something that looked like a bra in her hand and a lamp in the other, "Ka. Ka. Shi. What is this?"

"Uhh… Exactly what it looks like?"

Asahina screamed and flung the lamp straight into Kakashi's head before storming out, "You're impossible!"

The white haired man cradled his lamp awkwardly, "Whoops… Now she's angry. Hmm. At least it's not broken."

"Shouldn't you go after her?" Yui asked.

He shrugged, "She'll get over it."


	9. With the Exam Comes Troubles

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

Yui rolled out of bed in the morning, waking up Aya as well, "We have to join Asahina-sensei at the Dango Shop today."

"Asahina?" Kakashi groaned before rolling over in his sleep.

As Aya dashed to the bathroom to complete her morning rituals, Yui shook Kakashi awake, "Kakashi! You're going to be late to meet your students."

She gasped when he grabbed her hand, grumbling something barely audible, "Asahina… I didn't mean to do it… I'm sorry."

Yui's eyebrow shot up, "Do what?"

"No… Forgive me." He didn't sleep with his headband on so his scarred eye was clearly visible but only his good eye was shedding tears.

"Are you crying, Kakashi?" She bit her lower lip when his grip tightened around her hand causing her slight pain.

"Asahina… I'm sorry."

"She's not here." Yui pulled her hand away.

Kakashi shot up, his good eye snapping open and his hand instantly grasping Yui's again, "Asahina!"

"Are you returning to your senses now?" Yui asked when he blinked at her in confusion.

He dropped her hand slowly, "Oh. That's right… She's mad at me."

"Does she often make you cry?"

"Cry? Now that I think about it…" He smiled, "Only once and it wasn't her fault."

"Fascinating. Do you often have that dream and talk in your sleep on top of that?"

"I wouldn't know anything about talking in my sleep but that dream is a memory that comes back every once in a while." He smiled, "You need to hurry don't you? Asahina's going to yell at me if you're late."

* * *

Kai yawned loudly, "Kori… You're early today."

The girl was sitting next to her red haired teacher who was sipping on some tea, "Saizo. You're just later than usual."

He plopped down next to her, "Hmm… I could be."

Toshizo returned from the inside of the shop with some tea and dango for them, "Kai-san, you look tired."

"I was busy yesterday." He accepted the cup gratefully, "So… Why are we meeting at the Dango Shop today?"

"Wait until Yui and Aya get here." Asahina smiled.

"They're staying at Kakashi-sensei house right?" Toshizo asked innocently.

"Huh?" The jonin growled, "What about that loser?"

"Eek. Nothing." He ducked down behind his teammates, "Scary."

"We've got a scary mission?" Aya's smile seemed almost sadistic, "How many?"

"No. It's nothing like that." Asahina held out three slips to the original members of her squad, "I've recommended the three of you to take the Chunin Selection Exams. I'm not forcing you to take it but I've recommended you all so I'm sure you'll be fine. If you want to take the exam, sign those and report to the academy at three o'clock five days from now. Make sure to head to the third floor."

"And us?" Aya seemed to deflate when her teacher had nothing to give her.

"You guys haven't completed enough missions to participate but I've got a job for the two of you as well." Asahina smiled, "Come with me."

"Can we go home now?" Kai yawned again.

"Sure." Asahina left a few bills for the owner of the shop, "Leave when you're ready."

As soon as their teacher was out of sight the three genin burst into happy conversation. Toshizo spoke quickly and with a tone of disbelief, "She even recommended me!"

"Saizo? Are you going to sign it?" Kori asked.

"Obviously." Kai snorted, "You're not?"

"I didn't say that." She smirked, "I'm going to do it even if you don't."

"I think I'll pass." Toshizo smiled at the two when they turned around and looked at him like he was crazy, "I'm not strong like you guys. I'll just take it some other time."

"Toshizo. You should at least try." Kori said, "Let's take it together."

"Toshi." Kai jerked his thumb in the female genin's direction, "If she's taking it, you should take it. If you're a man you should take it."

"Did you just call me Toshi?" He laughed when Kai turned around to hide his face, "That's the first time you've ever called me by my name."

"Shut up." Kai barked, "Just take the exam."

"Yes sir." Toshi laughed.

"Well, I don't know about you guys… But I'm going to train." Kori glanced over her shoulder, "See you around."

Kai sighed contently, "This day is getting better."

"Kai-san. I'm going home so I'll see you around." Toshizo left the blonde alone after a short wave.

The silvery blonde haired genin's eyes snapped to the new presence that was approaching him, "A girl?"

"U-Umm… H-Hello, Kai-kun…" The girl's feet shuffled awkwardly on the dirt.

His eyes narrowed at her, "Who the hell are you?"

"O-Oh… I was in your class at the academy…" She looked slightly disappointed that he couldn't remember her but her white eyes looked familiar to him, "I'm Hyuga Hinata."

"Hyuga? Hinata?" Kai snorted. The only Hyuga he knew was Kori but he could recall another Hyuga in their class, "Ahh… That quiet girl. And? What do you want with me?"

"Ah n-nothing." She squeaked, "I was just wondering if you've seen my cousin."

"Kori? She said something about training and then left."

Hinata smiled shyly, "T-Thank you."

"Sure." His eyes trailed after her as she ran off in the direction that her much more confident cousin had gone in earlier. He yawned again and stretched but immediately found his hand going for a kunai as soon as another presence approached him.

"Hmm…" The feminine voice drawled, "You react quickly for a genin."

"Another girl…" He growled, "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Hmm… Aren't you the attractive one?" She ran her tongue down his neck, "How old are you?"

He turned and slashed at the woman but she was already on the move, "None of your business."

"Come now. Let's be civilized. I'm thirteen."

He growled, "Thirteen and already molesting people? Good thing you and I are the same age or else you'd be a cougar."

"Oh my. You dislike older women." She giggled, flipping her dark brown hair over her shoulder, "How traditional."

"I'm not interested in you. What do you want?" His eyes flickered to her foreign headband and the shuriken holster on her thigh, "And who are you?"

"I thought you said you weren't interested in me." She smirked, twirling her kunai between her fingers, "I'm Fujikaze Yukie."

He grunted, "Yeah and I'm the Hokage. Who are you really?"

"I'm an actress, Saizo Kai, an actress."

"Yeah… And I'm a daimyo. I'll say it again. Who are you really?"

"I already told you. How can I prove to you that I'm Fujikaze Yukie?" She approached him after dropping her kunai, "I'm no ninja."

"Fujikaze Yukie is older and taller." His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Maybe she really was an actress. It didn't look like she was lying but appearances could be deceiving. He snarled, "If you really are Fujikaze Yukie, what are you doing here? And why are you talking to me?"

"Oh you can't believe what you see on the screen. They always make me look a little taller and the make-up makes me look older. I'm practicing my acting on you." Her lips curled up in a cunning smile, "And someone just happened to inform me that you were the youngest son of the prestigious Saizo Clan. I'd advise against taking the Chunin Exam. Your older brothers barely passed and you're obviously the weakest of the three."

He glared at her without restraint, "Are you crazy? By the time I'm their age, I'll be strong enough to take over as the head of the clan."

She bent over to pick up her kunai again, "Hmm…"

He backed away as the woman approached him with a seductive gaze, "What are you doing?"

She lowered the neck of her pink kimono slightly, "What do you think I'm doing?"

Kai narrowed his eyes further, "It's not going to work. No matter what it is."

"Kai-kun, what kind of girls do you like?"

He averted his eyes in a panic, cursing under his breath, "Why the hell does Kori come to mind first?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'None of your business.'" He lied.

"Such a cold man." She cooed before turning to leave, "We'll meet again."

"Crazy girl." He snorted, stomping off in the opposite direction.

Yukie removed the forehead protector from her head and returned it to the ghostly girl hiding in the shadows with her jonin teacher, "Thank you for your assistance."

"It was a job. We don't need to be thanked." Asahina smiled, "But what made you take interest in our Kai?"

"Before my father was assassinated, he managed to tell me that he had a good friend in Konoha. He ordered me to come here, telling me he had already arranged a marriage partner for me here." The girl explained, "He told me to find his friend in the Saizo Clan. When I arrived, the Head of the Clan told me that I was to marry his oldest child but we have a considerable age gap…"

"I understand." Asahina nodded, "You're still young. Why are you getting married?"

"It was my father's last wish. He wanted to strengthen the bond between Konaha and Yukigakure through a kind of political marriage." Yukie's face was lacking any emotions that should've been there, "I have no choice."

Asahina accepted her shuriken holster from the girl, "Thank you."

"I will make sure to pay at the desk before I return to the Saizo residence."

"Sure." The jonin sighed as soon as the woman was out of sight, "She's a hell of an actress. She can be all flirty with the Saizo kids but then she's like a robot in person."

Aya stood behind her teacher nodding her head, "A shame that she likes Kai. He said he doesn't like girls."

"We'll just have to hope it goes well."

* * *

According to plan, five days later, the several jonin-level shinobi were to gather at the Jonin Standby Station just beside the Ninja Academy. Asahina had met up with Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu just outside. Apparently the two of them had volunteered to help proctor the Chunin Exams this year. She invited them into the Standby Station after they explained their situation. She climbed up to the second floor and plopped into a sofa, "Well? Go ahead and show me your transformation."

The two of them were quick to use their Transformation Jutsu to act the part of two older genin. She clapped and nodded her head in acknowledgement. Kotetsu held up an arm, "Does it look believable?"

"You said you wanted to look like a snot-nosed genin…" She jumped up to stand next to him, "You're too tall to be a genin."

He held his fingers in front of him before transforming again, "How about now?"

She scooted slightly closer comparing their heights by moving her hand back and forth between them, "If you're taller than me that's a problem."

"Are your students shorter than you?"

"I'd hope so." Her eyes narrowed into a glare at his humorless joke.

"Okay… One more time. Henge no Jutsu!"

"Pft." She almost spat on his face when she saw the deteriorating quality of his transformations, "Your face is still the same…"

He sweat dropped, "You said the only problem was my height."

She jumped over a row of sofas to reach a box hidden in the back by several of the female jonin. She pulled out a mirror and jumped right back over to him, "Why aren't you as good as Izumo?"

He didn't even need to answer. She already knew that he was the lazier of the two. He glanced into the mirror, "So what do you want me to do about my face?"

"Make it look… Younger maybe?" She rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, still holding the mirror in front of his face. After another failed attempt, she rolled her eyes again, "You're wasting chakra. Let me help you."

She slammed the mirror into Izumo's hands and returned to the box to yank out a tube of red face paint before returning to the two chunin shinobi. Izumo sighed, "We're going to miss our chance to test them, Kotetsu."

Asahina dabbed the tube and its contents onto her finger lightly, "Close your eyes, you idiot."

Kotetsu squeezed his eyes shut, "Where are you going to put that?"

"On your nose, you snot-nosed genin." She snapped when he reached over to stop her from doing anything.

He hesitated before pulling his hand away, "Hurry up."

"Don't rush me." She rubbed the paint over his nose until it became a light shade of red, "You should just keep your eyes closed like that. It makes you look stupider."

His eyebrow twitch in annoyance, "Just because you graduated and became a chunin before me, doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"You said you were supposed to be disguised as a genin. I'm just giving you advice." Asahina shrugged.

"And how am I supposed to see with my eyes closed?" He growled.

"Don't know." She hummed, "Try?"

He let out an annoyed sigh before shutting his eyes again. Izumo slid towards the stairs with Asahina, "This way."

Izumo stood patiently at the bottom of the stairs while Asahina stood by the top, "Hurry up, Hagane-kun~!"

"Shut up." The teasing tone she used was quite nostalgic. He put up his hands awkwardly, trying to feel any possible objects that he could run into, "This isn't easy."

"I didn't say it was." She looked over her shoulder, "Izumo. He's going to take forever."

The chunin sighed as the woman pointed and laughed at the exasperated expression on his face. He turned and stomped out the door grumbling, "Kotetsu! Hurry up!"

"I'm hurrying." He grumbled under his breath, sucking in a breath when his hands made contact with something.

"Kotetsu. You have some nerve."

"Oh shit." He sucked in a breath, before opening his eyes and staring at his unmoving hands awkwardly. He made eye contact just as awkwardly not making any moves that could possible set the woman off, "A-Asahina… Oh god."

His face flushed a darker shade of red than the face paint and his hands began to shake under the heat of her breasts. She glared at him before shoving his hands away and pounding him over the head, "How long were you planning on keeping them there, you pervert?"

"Asahina! It was an accident." He reached out to stop her as she turned around angrily, taking a few steps down the stairs before his hand managed to catch her, "I'm sorry."

She made an attempt to pull her hand away but his iron grip continued to hold her arm, throwing him off balance. His eyes widened as he lost his footing on the stairs and the two Konoha shinobi rolled down the stairs, tangled in each other's limbs. Asahina's head made a solid 'thunk' sound as it hit the marble tiles at the bottom of the stairs. She groaned, "Kotetsu, you ass."

In all the commotion his transformation had come undone. He shook his head, to clear away the dizzy feeling from rolling down the stairs, as he pushed his upper body slightly upward with his elbows. His eyes opened at the same time as hers. The two gasped. Asahina's eyes widened in surprise as Kotetsu's eyes sparkled with some sort of unrecognizable emotion. She could smell something sweet in the man's warm breath, something like syrup? Asahina could vaguely hear the creaking of the door over Kotetsu's shaky breaths. A familiar voice filled with shock drew their attention, "A-Asahina."

"Kotetsu!" Izumo stood at the door next to a wide-eyed Kakashi.

The two turned their heads slowly back to face each other and then again to the two at the door. Both shinobi let out un-ninja-like squeaks and helped each other sit up, stumbling over their words, "Th-This… Th-That… The thing is… We… This… Uhh…"

"Hmm…" Kakashi hummed, walking passed the two and up the stairs without making eye contact with either of them, "Congratulations. I don't know how slow I am but congratulations and sorry for the late congrats."

"Kakashi, I…." Asahina trailed off when he didn't look back.

Kotetsu frowned, rubbing her arm lightly, "I have to go now. I'm sorry."

She shrugged, "Go ahead."

"I didn't know you had something with Kakashi-san." He took Izumo's hand when his friend reached out to help him up.

"I didn't know either." She joked, shaking her head, "We don't have anything."

"We don't?" Asuma walked in, "Have any what? Food?"

Kurenai rolled her eyes, "Why are they here?"

"I invited them in to help them with their disguises…. Kotetsu… Your transformation…" She laughed, "All that work for nothing."

He smiled, tossing a wave over his shoulder as he left, "I'll think of something."

The two chunin made their way to the Academy with guilty hearts. Izumo sighed, "You just had to pretend that you were too lazy to transform properly."

"I didn't know it was going to get me that far." He scratched his still painted nose, "I thought she would just tell me to shape up or that I was a sorry excuse for a chunin. I didn't know I was going to get to touch her chest…"

"All of those things happened on accident but you probably put yourself and her on Kakashi-san's bad side."

"They'll get over it."

"Kotetsu! You better apologize properly later."

"Yeah yeah yeah." His lazy friend was already getting over the fact that he possibly wrecked someone's love life, "Let's get to work on that prank."

"If you make me do all the work again, I'll make sure Kakashi-san finds out you groped Asahina-san."

Kotetsu's transformation jutsu was successful this time around and he silently ran inside to set up their trap.

Meanwhile, Squad Nine met up outside the Academy a few minutes before three. Kai grunted when the female genin approached him, "Kori. Did you sign it?"

She flashed him her paper quickly, "I'm taking it so… duh."

Toshizo joined them shortly after, slightly out of breath, "Sorry I'm late."

The two acknowledged him as they entered the academy together. After climbing staircase after staircase, the trio came upon a group of genin that had probably arrived before them. A female voice pleaded with the two figures blocking the door, "Please let us through!"

One of the boys blocking the door snorted, punching the girl in the face, "We're doing you guys a favor. We've taken this exam three times already. We're just weeding out the weaklings."

Kori rolled her eyes when she and her brother spotted each other at the same time. Neji's eyes narrowed and he shook his head when she mouthed, "Should I beat his ass?"

"Hey." Kai leaned over and whispered to the girl, "Is this the room where we're supposed to meet?"

"301…" Toshizo sighed, "Come to think of it, Asahina-sensei never gave us a room number."

Kori growled, "Duck!"

The Hyuga girl shoved her teammate's head down as a kunai flew over them. The boys in front of the door chuckled, "What are you guys whispering about over there?"

"How I'm going to kill you for that." Kai snarled.

"How rude. We're just trying to spare your lives. Didn't you hear me earlier? You're better off quitting here. The test is way too hard for weaklings like you." The boy scratched at his rusty-looking red-colored nose.

"That's a nice argument but I think I'll pass." Sasuke seemed to appear out of nowhere with his team trailing behind him, "And could you possibly remove this genjutsu field? I want to get to the third floor."

"Oh? You noticed." The second boy was much more normal looking and his eyes weren't as squinty.

"Sakura, how about you? You should've noticed first. Your analysis skills and genjutsu know-how is the best in our team." Sasuke made sure to acknowledge Kori's presence but ignore Kai completely while talking to Sakura.

The silvery blonde growled, "He thinks he can just ignore me."

Sakura smiled and took the floor, "Obviously we're on the second floor still."

Kai rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. She probably didn't know that."

"Well… At least she knew that the room that had to get to was on the third floor." Toshizo laughed nervously when his teammate glared at him.

"You're pretty good but just realizing it isn't good enough." The boy sniffled and jumped right in to attack them.

Sasuke lunged forward to intercept his kick but another genin jumped in to stop them both at once. Toshizo blinked a few times, "Who's that?"

"Rock Lee. He's in my brother's squad." Kori said, "He specializes in taijutsu."

Both Sasuke and the guard backed away from each other. Lee's bushy eyebrows were furrowed as Neji stepped forward to scold him, "You were the one that said you didn't want to show off. What are you doing?"

"But…" Lee glanced over at Sakura and the rest of his team could have sworn there was some sort of flame burning in his eyes.

Following his line of sight, Toshizo realized that Lee was staring at Sakura with a passionate gaze. The girl who was begging to be let in shook her head and approached their team, "Kori. I didn't know you'd be taking the exams too. I guess your teacher just wanted to get rid of you guys."

Kori visibly tensed, "And I suppose you're here to just weigh your team down."

"Stop talking about yourself, retard." Tenten growled, "Everyone knows that you're the weakest person in your clan."

Kai had the Hyuga behind him in a second, "Get lost. We don't have time for you."

"K-Kai-kun…" She stuttered before retreating behind Neji, who stood quietly near his teammates.

"Move up to the third floor." Kai ordered.

Toshizo nodded, dragging the blue haired girl behind him, "Let's go."

Neji lifted an eyebrow, "You would be?"

"Saizo Kai." He glared over at the older boy, "If you're her brother, you should've defended her."

His lips twitched into a smirk, "For what? All of those comments were true and she knows it too."

"You bastard!" Kai lunged forward but was pulled back by the collar of his shirt.

"Stop." Kori pulled him away but not before looking over her shoulder to say, "Tenten, maybe you should fight your own battles instead of hiding behind my brother."

The two heard her scream, "Who's hiding, you retard?!"

Kai growled, "What the hell is wrong with that guy?"

"Neji's just angry cause I'm taking the exams even though he told me not to." She shrugged, "And Tenten never really liked me."

"I don't like that girl."

"And that's probably why she doesn't like me."

Kai glanced over at the girl, "What are you talking about?"

"She obviously likes you."

"And?"

"You're on MY squad? You're MY teammate, not hers? Get it?"

He grunted, "Girls are complicated."

Toshizo was waiting for them by the stairs, "Hurry guys."

"Toshizo!"

"Who-?!"

The familiar female jonin threw her arms around her least confident student, "You came! Now you guys are officially registered for the Chunin Selection Exams."

"What are you talking about, you old hag?" Kai growled, "You said it was completely optional."

"Well… I lied." The woman giggled, "The exam can only be taken if all three of you showed up."

"Whoa. Good thing I came." Toshizo sighed, "I hope I don't weigh you guys down too much."

"What are you talking about?" Kori nudged the boy, "You're plenty strong."

Asahina smiled, sniffling happily, "I'm so proud of you guys, I could just cry. But I won't. Hurry and go inside. Good luck to all of you."

Toshizo took a much needed breath when his teacher finally released him, "The same goes for the other squads, right?"

Asahina nodded, "That why all the teachers are… Well, were… Standing here. If you don't all show up together we're supposed to take you on a mission like usual."

"Were…?" Toshizo finally realized that Kakashi was standing on the other side of the hallway with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, "Kakashi-sensei."

"You guys are faster than my students." Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, "Good luck to all of you."

"Thank you!" The three straightened up before pushing the door aside roughly to enter examination room.

* * *

**If you've seen the movie **_**Naruto Clash in the Land of Snow, **_**then you know that Fujikaze Yukie is the actress and daimyo to the Land of Snow. In the movie she's probably adult age but for the purposes of my story she's going to be the same age as the rest of them. I'm using her as a character probably because I need someone who's important enough to fit the "arranged marriage" role and probably because I'm too lazy to think of another OC…. O_O Sorry. So honestly I'm just using her name and position.**


	10. Miserable Paper Test! Must Cheat!

**Well... Isn't this strange? This is my summer break and all I've done is practice driving and work on my story. My friends are starting to think I have no life but on the good side, this is a very productive time for this story. LOL. I wish you all an eventful summer. Thanks for taking the time to follow my story thus far.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were the last genin to enter the room. The air was stuffy due to the immense number of people crowded into the small classroom. Kai looked over his shoulder as soon as they entered, "You guys are the last ones."

As soon as Hinata approached them, Kori stood straight up, "Hinata-sama."

The shy girl nodded, "Kori-chan… You made it after all."

"Good luck to you, Hinata-sama."

"Y-You don't have to be so formal… We're not at home…" The older Hyuga's eyes widened when she spotted Kai, "Th-Thank you for helping me the other day."

"Who the hell are you?" He couldn't remember whether or not he helped the girl or she was just making conversation.

Kori's foot connected with his shin before he could blink, "That's Hinata-sama to you. Keep your vulgar language in your head."

"Vulgar?" Kai snorted, "Why is she so important anyways?"

"This is Hyuga Hinata-sama of the Main Branch of our clan." Kori jerked a finger in Kai's direction, "And this jerk is Saizo Kai."

Hinata nodded, "I know… W-We were in the same class."

"I just told you in case you didn't remember this insignificant punk."

"Ehhh…. It's Kori!" Ino leaped onto Sasuke's back, "Get away from Sasuke-kun."

"I wasn't even standing near that guy…" She sighed and gasped when someone pulled her into an aggravatingly tight hug, "Kiba! C-Can't breathe!"

"You've been so cold recently." He whined, "Akamaru and I never get to see you."

"I saw you last week!" She managed to catch Akamaru as soon as he jumped off of Kiba's head.

He ruffled her hair lightly, "You can't just see me just once a week! Come see me at least three times… No! Four times!"

Kai growled, "Take your dirty, dog hands off her."

"What?" Kiba and Kori both spun around with extremely surprised expressions on their faces.

Kai's expression showed the most surprise, "I didn't say anything."

The two exchanged glances and looked back to Kai before looking at each other again. Lowering his voice, Kiba hissed, "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." She whispered back, "He's my teammate."

"Teammate? He's being jealous, isn't he?" Kiba glanced over at the blonde, who still happened to be glaring at them.

"I don't know…" She gasped and screamed when a bug was dangled in front of her face, "I hate bugs!"

Kai pulled her back as soon as she screamed, "You… Screamed over a little bug?"

"Shino!" She whined, "Why do you do that every time you see me?"

"It's amusing." He deadpanned.

"It's not funny when she screams in your ear!" Kiba barked.

"Hey! You must be the new genin." A bespectacled boy approached them, "You guys might want to quiet down. The tension is high before the exam and those foreign shinobi look like they want to kill someone already."

"And who are you to tell us what to do?" Sasuke glared over at him.

"Yakushi Kabuto. This must be your first time taking this exam."

"Is it that obvious?" Toshizo whispered to no one in particular.

"I'm only warning you so you wouldn't be picked on." He smiled, "It can't be helped since you don't know much about the exam."

"Kabuto-san, is this your second time?" Sakura asked.

"Seventh." He admitted, earning a few gasps, "This event is held twice every year and it's my fourth year."

"Wow. So you must really know a lot." Naruto said.

"You could say that."

"But you failed it six times." Shikamaru was quick to get to the point, "Is the Chunin Exam that hard? What a drag."

"I guess so…" Kabuto managed to produce some cards from his pockets, "I guess I could share some information with you rookies. These are ninja info cards."

"What are those?" Toshizo asked.

"These cards have information burned into them with my chakra." He put the deck on the floor and sat next to them, turning a card over, "They look white but you need my chakra to see the information."

His hand began to glow with the power of his chakra, revealing a map and chart on his card. Sakura gasped, "What kind of information is that?"

"This shows how many participants from each village are participating in the exams."

"Do you have information on individuals?" Sasuke stepped forward to take a better look at the cards.

"It's not perfect but I do. I even have info on you guys." He smirked smugly, "Is there anyone you're particularly interested in?"

"Sabaku no Gaara and Rock Lee."

"Hyuga Neji, too." Kai added.

Kori raised her eyebrow, "My brother?"

"Here you go." Kabuto laid the cards out before them, "All three of them are pretty much monsters. All three of them are taking this exam for the first time like you guys. Rock Lee and Hyuga Neji both specialize in taijutsu and have completed twenty D-rank missions and twelve C-rank missions. Neji is the stronger of the two apparently and he's considered to be a genius in his clan. There have been some rumors that he's the exact opposite of his much less talented sister but it seems you would know more about that. Sabaku no Gaara even managed to complete a B-rank mission as a genin and apparently he always comes back from mission without a scratch. All of the participants are quite talented and have similar stats."

"M-Makes you lose confidence, doesn't it?" Hinata squeaked.

"This isn't going to be easy." Naruto was shaking in his boots.

"Hey! Naruto… Don't get so down." Sakura reached out to comfort him didn't get the chance.

"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO AND I WON'T LOSE TO ANY OF YOU JERKS!" He roared loudly enough for every head to turn their way, "YOU GOT THAT?!"

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Ino screamed.

Kiba chuckled, "He's such a show off."

"What a drag. He just turned the whole room into our enemies." Shikamaru sighed.

Kori eyed the lazy boy, "They were our enemies to start with."

The girl almost swallowed her words when three foreign ninja charged at Kabuto. She managed to stop a rain of shuriken with hers while Kai wrestled the second attacker to the floor. The third was the strangest of them all. His face was completely bandaged and he moved fast but held his hands in front of him like a mummy or a zombie. He charged in quickly but Kabuto managed to get out of the way, or so she thought until Kabuto keeled over and hurled. The girl underneath Kori began to squirm. The Hyuga flung the girl across the room but she expertly flipped over to land on her feet.

The mummy man laughed maniacally, "You're a four year veteran and yet you couldn't even dodge my attack."

"Quiet down you morons!" All heads were turned to the front of the room as a puff of smoke signaled the entrance of the proctors. The Sound Ninja snorted and backed away slightly so as to avoid any trouble.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, the proctor of the first exam." He was smirking almost sadistically, "Otogakure (Hidden Sound). Stop doing whatever you want. Do you want to fail before we start?"

The zombie ninja lead his team back to the desks, "We apologize. This is our first time so we're a little excited."

"This is a good opportunity to say this." Ibiki had a dominating presence even though there were other proctors behind him, he was the most threatening, eliciting a few gulps and gasps as he spoke, "There will be no fighting unless instructed to do so by the proctors. Killing is not permitted in this exam. Anyone who disobeys will be failed immediately, understood?"

When the genin remained silent in fear, he continued, "We will now begin the exam. Come here and pick up a number and find the seat with that label. We will hand out the test as soon as you're seated."

"A paper test?!" Naruto screamed, "Why me?!"

As soon as they were all seated the proctors handed out the tests one by one, increasing the tension of all of the participants. Toshizo was already starting to panic. If it was a written test then he was already on the verge of failing. His teammates graduated close to the top of the class so they would be alright but he was closer to being as stupid as Naruto. There was no way he could pass a written test without cheating.

Ibiki gave instructions as soon as the tests were passed out, "Don't turn them over yet. There several rules for this exam and I won't be taking any questions so listen carefully. The first rule states that you'll each start off with ten points. There are ten questions on the test. Figure it out, yet? Each one is worth a point and for each one you get wrong you'll lose a point. The second rule, is that this is a team test whether or not you pass will be determined by your group score."

"Wait a second! Why is this a team test?!" Sakura shot out of her seat immediately.

"I said I wouldn't be taking questions, didn't I?" Ibiki motioned for her to sit down, "The third rule is that anyone caught cheating or doing sneaky things will lose two points each time. These guys are chunin shinobi. They'll be monitoring your actions throughout the test. If they see you cheating five times, you will lose all your points and be asked to leave."

"We're watching you." A chunin was slouching in the corner chair waving a clipboard for emphasis.

"Realize that the pathetic genin who get caught cheating aren't going to pass the exam and be proud shinobi." Ibiki smirked, "The fourth and final rule is that those that cannot answer the any of the questions will fail along with their team. So if any member of your team gets zero points, you'll all be failed together."

Kai slammed his head on the table grumbling, "Just great. We're going to fail this damn test."

Toshizo shivered madly, "Kai-san is going to kill me."

Kori laughed quietly at the glaring blonde and when he caught her laughing she waved and mouthed, "We'll be fine. Good luck."

He flushed and turned his head in the opposite direction. His ears just barely registered Ibiki's final instructions, "The exam will last one hour. Begin!"

There was a collective sound of shuffling papers as each of the genin turned over their test to begin. Toshizo slammed his head on the table as he read over each and every question. He didn't know the answer to any of them. He was going to fail and get killed by Kai. He had no choice but to cheat but how would he cheat without being caught by the dozens of chunin watching them like hawks watch prey. He was on the verge of pulling his hair out. There was nothing he could do.

Kai's eyes were almost falling out of his head. Forgetting Toshizo, he himself didn't know how to answer a majority of the questions. Luckily for him, the Saizo Clan teaches cryptology and he was able to answer the first question but the other eight were ridiculously difficult. The tenth question just seemed fishy to him but he pushed it aside. One out of ten would be a terrible score for anyone to get. He was at a loss for words, for action, for anything! He slammed his head on the table. He would have to cheat without getting caught.

Kori sighed. There was no way anyone could know the answers to ridiculous bullshit questions like these. She was going to cheat even if it was the last thing she did but how? Her Byakugan would obviously be the easiest way to see another person's paper without looking but the veins that would pop out around her eyes would make it obvious that she was cheating. **There wasn't a single Hyuga that would just walk around with her Byakugan activated just to look at what was right in front of her.** She glanced around the room at each proctor and then at both Neji and Hinata. Both of them seemed to have their Byakugan's activated and they were both obviously cheating. She sighed, "Byakugan."

Scanning the room, she was able to see the sheet on each clipboard. It seems that not a single one of the chunin was docking points from Neji or Hinata for using their kekkei genkai. She was absolutely sure that she would be able to cheat off of Kai but when he saw his nearly blank papers she almost laughed. Team after team was getting kicked out of the room for cheating.

She smirked as soon as she saw Neji's paper, "_Jackpot!_"

Her brother could be copying answers from someone who was bullshitting their answers so as soon as she copied the first two, she moved on to look at someone else's paper. Her eyes landed on Sabaku no Gaara who had one eye closed but his pencil was moving. She copied a few answers from him and then moved on to Sasuke's paper. She dropped her pencil as soon as she was done, rubbing her eyes. Now she just had to think of a way to share answers with her teammates, who still had blank papers right up until she finished copying the answers. She rolled her eyes and reactivated her Byakugan. Kiba had ended up sitting next to her and it was obvious that he was cheating off her by way of Akamaru, who was sitting on his head and quietly barking the answers to his friend. She snorted when Kiba put his pencil down and rubbed her thigh gratefully under the desk so as not to be caught.

Toshizo was already wildly panicked and that was to be expected but even Kai was practically pulling his hair out. She managed to spot Tenten moving awkwardly. Kori's eyes followed the older girl's line of sight and spotted a mirror attached to the roof of the classroom. She smirked. If Tenten was able to see the answers then Kai would be able to see them too. He was only sitting a few rows ahead of the girl but on the opposite side of the room from Kori. Now she just had to find a way to tell him. The idea practically slapped her in the head, Naruto kept panicking obviously and shuffling around but he hadn't been marked down for cheating. She rubbed her nose and took a deep breath slamming her head on the table, drawing the attention of several of the genin and the chunin proctors. She locked eyes with Kai who turned to look at her and managed to keep her eyes locked with his. She rubbed her eyes with her cheek still attached to the table, glancing between Kai's face and the mirror hanging only a few rows in front of him.

At first he just glared at her like she was crazy but then his eyes flickered over to the front of the classroom like she was doing. The first few times he checked, he just kept looking at her like she was crazy but finally he spotted the mirror. It was at just the right angle for him to see the answers of the person in front of him. His pencil immediately began to move, copying the answers down word for word. He felt Kori's Byakugan on him, making sure that he had gotten her meaning.

The girl turned her attention to the instructors again and realized that Naruto had been docked for cheating but she and Kai had gotten away with it. Ibiki was chuckling in the front of the room and Kori realized that he was watching her the whole time. She blushed. He knew she was cheating but he wasn't telling the proctors to dock her for it. He was smirking but he turned his eyes to the next most interesting cheater, Sabaku no Gaara who was sitting next to Toshizo.

Speaking of Toshizo, it was a crazy gamble but he was sitting a row behind Tenten. If Tenten could see it, maybe he could too. Unfortunately, Toshizo was lost in his own world of panic and he wasn't coming back. Kori growled, the panicked boy hadn't even turned to look at her when she slammed her head on the table earlier. She glared at him hoping he would at least look her way but time was running out.

The tenth question was to be announced in ten minutes. Her glaring caught the attention of Gaara instead of Toshizo. And she slammed her head on the table again. Wrong person. She wanted to get Toshizo attention not Gaara's. Her head was resting on the table again and she felt like killing someone. Her eyes were about to fall out of her head but she had no choice but to monitor the chunin to prevent losing too many points for getting caught more times than she should be. She was actually surprised that she wasn't docked points for that last attempt.

"Time. The tenth questions will now be announced." Ibiki was still smugly looking in her direction, "There are a few rules for this question. These are the rules of desperation."

* * *

Kakashi sighed, "It sure is boring without my team."

"Don't worry, you'll be busy again soon." Asuma was smoking a cigarette on the sofa across from his friend in the Jonin Standby Station.

"Why?"

"The first proctor is Morino Ibiki."

"The sadist?"

"Sadist?" Kurenai was clueless about the interrogation squad's most terrifying special jonin.

Asahina nodded, "He's the captain of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, Morino Ibiki. They say his mental torture is just as good as any physical torture."

"He's a real pro." Asuma nodded, "They say he's also quite the good actor. He can make you believe anything with just his demeanor."

"He's probably not going to physically torture them though." Asahina laughed at the terrified look on Kurenai's face, "Maybe he'll show them some picture they wouldn't want to see at the most."

"Wouldn't want to see, huh?" Kakashi chuckled, leaning back against the sofa, "Isn't Kotetsu helping him during the exam?"

Asahina didn't like the way he looked straight at her when he asked, "How should I know?"

"Hmm… You don't know or you don't want to tell me?" He was smiling but he wasn't happy at all.

"Maybe you should just mind your own business." She didn't look back even once as she left the room.

Asuma looked fairly surprised, "What happened?"

Kakashi sighed, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, "I'm not so sure myself."

Kurenai rolled her eyes, "Kakashi. You should hurry and go after her."

"She'll get over it." He smiled over at the woman but she just shook her head quietly.


	11. The Tenth Question

_**Disclaimer**__**: I wish I owned Naruto and all the wonderful characters but I don't own anything but my OC's. T_T**_

"Looks like we got rid of the garbage already." Ibiki smirked, "It's time to give the tenth question and the special rule."

"Special rule?" Kai snorted, "He makes it seem like a big deal."

"You can choose whether or not to answer the question." Ibiki continued, "But if you choose not to take the question, your team leaves with you."

"That's crazy! No one would choose not to take it!" Someone screamed.

"If you choose to take it, and get it wrong, you will never have the chance to take the chunin exams again. You will remain genin for the rest of your lives."

"There aren't any stupid rules like that!" Kiba slammed his hand on the table, standing up angrily, "There are people here who have taken the test multiple times!"

Akamaru barked in agreement as Kiba shook with either fear or anger. Ibiki began to laugh wildly, "You guys are unlucky. This year, I am the rules. That's why I'm giving you the chance to back out. If you choose not to accept the question, you will fail the test this time but have another chance next time. If you're not confident, you can take the exam again next time or the time after that."

Kiba sat back down slowly, his eyes shaking with hesitation, "Kori… Are you going to try?"

She nodded, "There's no way I'm going to ruin my teammates' chances to become chunin."

"But what if you're stuck as a genin forever?" He hissed.

"I'll take that chance." She elbowed him, "What happened to the confident cheater from a few minutes ago?"

"That was easy… I just cheated off of you…" He trailed off after catching her meaning, "No way… You're going to cheat again?"

"If the question is too hard to answer, I'm going to cheat." She stated bluntly, "And you're going to cheat off of me again, right?"

He sighed, "Thanks."

"Let's begin the tenth question." Ibiki began, "If you don't want to take the question, raise your hand. After your number is confirmed, you can leave."

Several teams began to leave the room after raising their hands. Toshizo was shaking in the back. His paper was blank so if he had no choice but to try his hand at the tenth question but if he got it wrong he would be a genin forever. Then again, if he opted it out his team would fail with him. Either way he was screwed. He could try to answer the question, get it wrong, be a genin for the rest of his life, get a zero on the test, fail his team, and get killed by Kai. Or he could choose not to try, fail his team, and get killed by Kai. Either way it ended with his death by the hands of his teammate.

The room was practically empty compared to when the exam had begun. The chunin were snickering in their chairs as team after team left the room with their heads hanging. Kai glanced up at the mirror in the ceiling. He didn't know who put it there but he was grateful. He wasn't about to back out of the test like a coward but it's not like he didn't have a backup plan.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand shot into the air and slammed straight back down into the table, "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! I'LL TAKE YOUR DAMN QUESTION! EVEN IF I HAVE TO BE A GENIN FOREVER I'LL FIND AWAY TO BECOME THE HOKAGE!"

Kori sighed, "He's always so loud."

Kiba and Akamaru nodded in agreement, "After that show I can't back out anyways."

"I'll ask you again." Ibiki growled, "This is your last chance to back out of the test."

"I'll never back out. That's my ninja way." Naruto answered.

"Good decision. Now to everyone still in the room, congratulations on passing the first exam!"

"Wait! What do you mean?! What about the tenth question?" Sakura asked.

"There never was a tenth question." Ibiki smiled, "Or if that doesn't satisfy you, you could say making the choice was the tenth question."

"Then what were the first nine questions for?!" A sand kunoichi screamed.

"They already served their purpose. If you hadn't figured it out already, that was testing your information gathering skills." Ibiki explained, "This test puts you in a situation where you cannot mess up, for the sake of your team. But then the questions are so difficult that you have no choice but to cheat. Due to the circumstances, most people figured it out right from the start. Basically, this test forced you to cheat."

Kori snorted when the man looked straight at her with a coy smile. He continued, "As cheating targets, we snuck two chunin into the exam. Of course, if you cheating poorly you failed and were kicked out but that doesn't apply to any of you still in this room."

"Just asking... But who were you cheating off of?" Kiba whispered.

"'Who didn't I copy off of?' would be the better question." She laughed quietly.

Ibiki earned himself a few gasps and screams when he removed his bandana style forehead protector, revealing several scars, burn marks, etc, "In times when information is essential, people will risk their lives to get it. I want you to remember this. Information in your hands could be a powerful weapon for you and your comrades. We had you gather info through this test to see who was capable or not."

"I still don't understand." The sand ninja persisted.

"The tenth question was the real purpose of the test." Ibiki smiled at them proudly, "The decision I gave you was a tough one but the answer was clear. A ninja cannot choose which missions they take. You don't want to die, you don't want your comrades to get hurt, so you want to choose not to take the mission but you can't do that. No matter what the danger there are missions you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous enough to take on danger is absolutely necessary in chunin-level shinobi. Those who are too cowardly and pass up the chance at succeeding a mission aren't good enough to become chunin in the first place."

"Pft." Kai snorted, "Should've said that from the start instead of spooking us."

In a whirlwind of broken glass, leaves, kunai, and some sort of cloth the next proctor arrived. As if her sign didn't say it all, she announced, "This is no time to be celebrating! I'm Mitarashi Anko, the proctor for the second exam! Follow me!"

Kori smiled, "She reminds me of Naruto."

Kiba snorted, "You're telling me?"

"Ibiki! You left way too many of them!" Anko accused the man, "You're going soft!"

"There are plenty of outstanding genin this year." He defended himself.

"It doesn't matter. I'll cut them in half by the end of the second exam!" She declared, "Follow me! I'll explain everything when we get there!"

Naruto was the first out of his seat, dashing after the new proctor like she was saving him from a monster. Kori shook her head joining Hinata for only a few moments before leaving her with her team and rejoining her own. She smiled, "Did you see it?"

Kai nodded, "I owe you one."

Toshizo threw his arms around his teammates practically in tears. He was muttering something completely incomprehensible to human beings. Kai and Kori exchanged looks before dragging their friend out of the room on their back. As soon as reached their new destinations, Toshizo blurted out, "I was so scared! I left my paper completely blank!"

"What?" Kai and Kori looked at each other and face palmed, "You didn't know any of the answers?"

"No." He sobbed, "I thought I was going to fail you guys!"

"It's alright, Toshizo." Kori comforted the boy, "We both cheated. At least you were honest."

"You guys… Cheated?"

Kai snorted, "You should've cheated too."

"But I was afraid of being caught…"

"That's alright." Kori nodded, "At least we passed."

"Take a look at this place." Kai gestured towards the fenced enclosure, "So many trees. Kind of like a jungle in the middle of nowhere."

As if on cue, Anko's voice rang out to the genin, "Welcome to the stage for the second exam, Practice Area 44 also known as the Forest of Death. You'll find out why it's called the Forest of Death in a minute."

"'You'll find out why it's called the Forest of Death in a minute.'" Naruto shook his butt back and forth as he mimicked the woman, "You think that's scares me! I'm not afraid!"

"You're quite the spirited one, aren't you?" She smirked, sadistically before flinging a kunai at the boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Kori heard Hinata gasp but no one moved as the blood trailed down the boy's cheek.

She was behind him in a flash, licking some of the blood with her tongue, "Kids like you are usually killed the fastest."

Another ninja was among them in an instant only stopping when Anko's second kunai was at his… or her tongue. He… or she hissed, holding the first kunai with his/her tongue, "Here. I'm just returning your kunai."

"Why thank you." The woman smiled, "But you shouldn't sneak up on me unless you want to die."

"It landed so close to me I couldn't help it. It cut a lock of my precious hair."

"My apologies." Anko took her place at the front of the group again.

Kori shivered, "Is that a guy or a girl?"

"Who cares?" Kai grunted, restraining himself from doing anything that could be considered sexual harassment.

"Now, before we start the test I have to pass these out!" Anko waved a stack of papers around before passing them around, "You must all sign these consent forms since there will be plenty of deaths in this part and if I don't get you to sign these, I'll have to take responsibility."

"What?" Naruto tilted his head to the side before accepting a form.

"I'll explain the test before you sign them." Anko jerked her thumb towards the fence, "See that booth over there? You just have to sign these and turn them in over their when I'm done talking. Simply put, this is a survival test. There are forty-four locked gates in a circle around this area. It's basically a forest with a river in it and a tower in the middle. Each gate is about ten kilometers away from the tower. During this test each team will compete in a no rules scroll battle."

"Scrolls?" Sakura asked.

"That's right." Anko produced two different scrolls for them to see, "A Heaven and an Earth Scroll. There are twenty-six teams here so half will get the Heaven Scroll while the other half will get the Earth Scroll."

"So only half the teams will pass?" Kai was catching on fast.

"That's right. To pass the exam, your team must head to the tower will both scrolls but there is a time limit. You only have five days to reach the tower."

"What about food?!" Choji screamed.

"You're on your own." Anko shrugged, "There are plenty of things to eat in the forest. The area will be crawling with enemies so I doubt you'll have a lot of time to eat anyways. That brings me to the next point. If you lose a teammate during the course of the exam, your team is disqualified. One more rule, don't look inside the scroll until you get to the tower."

"What happens if you do?" Naruto cut in.

"A surprise." The lady snorted, "A chunin will be trusted with classified information. This is testing your trustworthiness."

"Oh great." Kori snorted, "Test our cheating skills and then test our honesty."

"Take your teams forms and exchange them for a scroll when you're ready. The last piece of advice would be, 'Don't die!'"

Toshizo sighed, "Oh boy."

Both Kori and Kai had signed the form without a second thought, "What's wrong?"

"Aren't you guys scared?" He signed the paper with his eyes closed, "This is literally signing your life away."

"We're ninja, Toshizo." Kori watched as her brother's team entered the cloaked booth to exchange their forms, "Let's go."

The instructor behind the desk hand them an Earth Scroll and instructed them to follow another instructor to a gate but there was another dilemma. Kai held the scroll as if his life depended on it, "Which one of us should hold onto this?"

"If this cloak is here, the other teams aren't able to see which one of us has the scroll or even which scroll our team has." Kori poked at the loose black curtains, "So they're going to have to search us all for the scroll."

"Search us….?" Toshizo and Kai seemed to get the same idea and the same time and they turned on their only female partner with almost scary expressions on their faces, "Like a full body search, right?"

Kori backed into the table behind them, "Wait a second…"

"Hide it somewhere on you." Toshizo snatched the scroll from Kai, "Where should we put it?"

"Somewhere they wouldn't dare put their hands." Kai's eyes flickered across her breasts, "There."

Kori kicked the boy in the shin, immediately covering her chest and scooting away from them, "You pervert!"

"We didn't say we were going to touch you, Kori-san." Toshizo was waving the scroll around her chest area, "But if we have to shove it down there, I won't hesitate."

She snatched the scroll from his hands, turning around to stuff it between her bra in an embarrassed manner before turning back around to glare at her teammates, "I'll kill you both if you put your hands in here."

"We're not going to try to take the scroll from our own teammate." Kai snorted, although he had to admit that his hormones were telling him that he should try it anyways.

Toshizo leaned against the gate that they were assigned to, "Do you think it's like a jungle in there?"

"Let's go after Naruto's team first." Kai smirked, "I just hope they didn't hide it in the same place we hid ours."

Kori scooted away from the normally well-behaved boy, "What is wrong with you? I thought you didn't like girls."

His face began to heat up but he cleared his throat and the fire died down, "Shut up!"

He had to admit that several people mentioned that he was acting much differently than normal. Even his family, who normally didn't tease him about girls, was starting to point out his weird change. They claimed that he was becoming a man. His father had even pulled him aside to ask about his relationship status. Kai hadn't given anyone any information that could possibly point them in the direction of his one and only female friend but they were starting to figure it out. He wasn't even entirely sure if he liked her like that. There was only one thing he was absolutely certain about, Hyuga Kori was now a distraction.

He found himself thinking more and more about her even when she wasn't around and when she was, he ended up saying things or doing things he didn't normally do. Five days in the forest with her would really be testing his self-control. How long could he keep denying the feelings he had developed?

"THE SECOND EXAM OF THE CHUNIN SELECTION EXAMS STARTS NOW!" Anko's voice rang throughout the forest as each of the chunin examiners opened their respective gates to allow the genin into the Forest of Death.


	12. Forest of Death!

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

"We're free to kill them all if we have to." Kai growled, "We should be on the offense."

"Are you crazy, Kai-san?!" Toshizo complained, "We're probably one of the least experienced teams here. We're going to get killed."

Not five minutes had passed since the start of the exam but the forest was already ringing with the screams of the fallen teams. The female genin sighed, "We have to hurry or we'll be caught like sitting ducks."

A rustling in the bushes had the three on their toes in an instant, kunais drawn. The barking of a dog got them to drop their guard. Kori smiled, "Akamaru. Kiba."

He waved, "Yo! Didn't know you guys were here."

Kai growled, "Easy, dog breath, I'll take your scroll if you try something."

"I'm serious! How would I know you were here? It was a coincidence." He held his hands up in defense, "Right, Kori?"

Her eyebrow twitched, "Where's Hinata-sama?"

"Kori." She waved from behind the tree, "I thought you were the enemy."

Shino had also joined them at some point, "Kori."

"Which scroll did you guys get?" Kiba flashed a Heaven Scroll in front of the trio.

Toshizo laughed, "We really could just take their scroll. We have th-!"

Kori didn't think twice before slamming her fist into Kiba's face, sending him flying into a nearby tree. She turned quickly to attack Hinata but she flipped out of the way. Kiba sat up rubbing his nose, "W-What was that for?!"

"Drop the act!" She snarled, "Who are you really?"

"Tch." The three released their transformation in a puff of smoke, revealing three grass ninja, "How did you know we weren't real?"

"There's no way Kiba wouldn't know I was here." If looks could kill, all three of the grass genin would've dropped dead on the spot, "He's got the best nose around and he takes pride in memorizing the individual scents of his friends. Hinata-sama would never think I was the enemy, she's got her Byakugan to check my chakra."

"Ever think that they could be nervous and didn't use their talents?" The first ninja growled.

"That's why I didn't attack right away but Shino never just says his greetings. He always dangles a bug in my face before announcing his presence." She growled, "Don't underestimate me."

"Tch. Enough! Moritaka, get her!" The only female shinobi screamed.

Moritaka let out a furry of shuriken in their direction, "Sorry kids, play time is over!"

Kori countered them with her own shuriken as her teammates prepared themselves for combat. Moritaka was furious, "We're done playing! Ken, Rina, get them!"

Ken charged forward, brandishing a katana as he came. Kai waved a few hand seals before releasing his attack, "Raiton: Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu! (Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu)"

In a stream of blue crackling lighting, the beast charged forward, separating their enemies completely. Toshizo let his shuriken fly one after the other, distracting the enemy rather than doing any damage. Kori clapped her hands together, "Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Style: Liquid Bullet)"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Jutsu)" Rina slammed her hand onto the floor releasing a fair amount of blood and chakra. With a puff of smoke, a black cougar appeared.

It leaped forward snarling. Kori barely managed to roll out of the way in time for the cat to pass her without harming her. Rina laughed maniacally, "One more time! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

This time a hawk appeared cawing as if it had just found prey. Kai sucked in a breath, "Raiton: Jibashi! (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder)"

He held his hands out in front of him, his body rippling as lightning travelled through his body and out through his palms. As soon as the lightning cleared, Kori charged in for close combat. The nerves and veins around her eyes grew from the activation of her Byakugan. Ken screamed as soon as her palm made contact with him, his chakra beginning to clot as she crushed his chakra pathways. The hawk swooped down at her again, but escaped as soon as it grabbed Ken. Thanks to her Byakugan, she saw Moritaka coming up from behind and managed to avoid his fist. Kai had already closed in and planted a firm round-house kick to Moritaka's neck.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Rina had summoned another more fearsome creature.

Toshizo screamed, probably like a girl, but he could care less. Anyone would scream at the sight of an eight-foot tall lion. The three leaf shinobi were forced to regroup.

Kai was already breathing hard, "How is she doing that?"

"What, they don't teach the summoning jutsu in your clan?" Kori was out of breath but she never complained.

"Don't you need a scroll for summoning?" Toshizo asked, recalling Kakashi's summon technique from the Land of Waves.

"That's what I thought too!" Kai had his back pressed against his female teammate's, "I'm not liking this damn hawk!"

"I found it!" Kori eyes were focus on the girl's pockets, "She has a whole bunch of scrolls in her pockets. Are you sure that you need the scrolls to summon them?"

"No!" Kai screamed over the roar of the lion circling them and waiting for them to leave an opening, "Now I remember! You can summon those things without scrolls like Asahina-sensei! It was in the text books! You have to make a contract with them to summon them. She must have contract scrolls on her!"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Destroy them! Or at least take her signature out!"

"Cover me!" She didn't wait for a reply as she charged toward the foreign shinobi.

"She's crazy!" Kai weaved a few more signs to attack, "Raiton: Jibashi! (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder)"

The lion roared in pain as Kai electrocuted it. Toshizo was busy running. He didn't care how shameful it looked as he ran from the cougar without looking back or thinking of the wellbeing of his teammates. Kai's scream echoed through the forest as the hawk clawed his back while the lion shook off any pain it was feeling. Rina screamed when Kori pinned her to the tree with a massive shuriken attack. Ken continued to lie unmoving where the hawk had dropped him while Moritaka finally realized that he would have to go through Kai before he could attack Kori.

"Saizo!" Kori made the mistake of looking back at him.

Rina punched her across the face, retreating into the trees above them. Wiping her face, she dashed up the side of the tree to catch the foreign kunoichi. Rina sneered at the younger girl, "You're persistent!"

Kori grabbed Rina's fist, flipping the enemy over her shoulder and knocking her against the tree trunk. The girl screamed and coughed when Kori shoved her palm into the girl's stomach. She was certain that Rina wouldn't be getting up any time soon and dug through her pockets, retrieving every scroll in there. She glanced down at Kai, who had decided to protect the base of the tree where the two girls had been fighting, "Saizo! How do I do this?"

"Just destroy the scroll!" He managed before Moritaka flung him halfway across the clearing and into another tree. Kai's body shivered once from the impact but he managed to stagger to his feet as Moritaka flew forward to finish him off.

Kori flung the scroll open and with her kunai she stabbed her own hand, pressing it against an open square on the scroll to leave her whole hand print on the scroll. She vaguely remembered the signs that the foreign shinobi had weaved to summon the creatures and copied them to the best of her abilities before throwing her hands down, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A pure white tiger leapt forward to knock Moritaka out of the air, pinning him to the grass effectively. The lion roared wildly. Kori quickly scanned the scroll but couldn't differentiate between any of the blood signatures that were there before hers. Frustrated, she just smeared her blood over all of the signatures on the scroll and in a puff of gray smoke the lion was gone. She unrolled the next scroll and smeared her blood over all of those signatures too and the hawk was gone.

Toshizo had returned from his wild run at some point and fell back in the grass to catch his breath. Kai's knees could no longer hold him up and the blonde fell flat on his posterior, leaning back against the tree to smile up at the blue haired girl in the tree. Her hand was burning with the pain of blood loss and being stabbed through and she almost fell out of the tree with relief as soon as the enemy's summoning had disappeared. She managed to leap down and lie in the middle of the clearing with Toshizo. He turned his head toward her with a smile, "I knew it. You're amazing, Kori-san."

"It was all Saizo." She glanced over at him, "You okay, Saizo?"

He waved away her concerns, "I'll live."

The Hyuga's eyes finally had time to relax, "I got the scroll…"

"Good work. We have both of them now."

Their break time was cut short, "Oh so you do now?! We'll be taking those!"

Both Kori and Kai were immediately on their feet as wild laughter filled the air. Toshizo was only a second slower, "Who's there?!"

"It's only been two and a half hours since the start of the exam and you guys are wiped out. You guys are complete newbies." Three male voices drawled.

"Amegakure ninja (Hidden Rain)!" Kori's Byakugan had protested on being used any further but she had no choice, "They're hiding in the trees."

"Where?" Kai hissed.

"Literally, inside the tree trunks."

"Over here, dear."

"Kori!"

The girl let out a scream as soon as the cold metal of her opponent's kunai slashed into her backside. Toshizo threw his kunai but the shinobi just sunk back into the tree safely. The white tiger that had been summoned just a few moments ago by the Hyuga was roaring loudly enough to shake the area. The ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain shivered and shook in the hollows of the trees but chuckled when the roaring died down, "We'll be back when you least expect it, newbies."

"Tch. They play dirty." Kai held the girl with one arm and a knife with the other, "They'll probably come back when it gets dark."

Kai hissed and barely flipped out of the way with his teammate still in his arms. Toshizo called out to him but he couldn't hear over the roaring of the tiger. Kori flung her arms around the tiger's neck as it attempted to attack their new attacker, "Stop!"

Kai sucked in a breath when his attacker stopped short of his throat with his bare hands. He found himself looking into the sharp eyes of a Hyuga and realized that their newest attackers had probably run away after sensing Neji's presence. He held his arms up, "Why are you attacking me? I don't have the scrolls."

"I won't warn you again. Stay away from my sister." Neji growled in a voice so low that even Kai had a hard time registering what he said.

"Neji…" Kori was sitting in the grass with her back against her now calm white tiger, "What are you doing here?"

"Gathering resources." He answered curtly, glaring at his sister.

Kai sweat dropped, "He was just telling me to stay away from her but he seems to be the dangerous one to me."

She sighed, "You sure you don't want to attack me. I have both scrolls."

"Kori-san." Toshizo warned, "We can't fight anymore."

Neji glared at the meek boy earning an appropriate reaction, "Kori… I told you not to take the exam."

"Yeah? Well I told you I would be okay." She snorted.

"You always talk big!" He snapped, "Take a look at yourself! That's not what you would call okay!"

If looks could kill, Kori would have died about a dozen times with just that one glare, "I'm still alive aren't I?"

He turned and walked off angrily, "Suit yourself but don't just sit there. If Tenten finds you, she'll probably take both of your scrolls."

"Isn't that your brother?" Toshizo asked, almost afraid to approach the girl due to the presence of the white tiger.

"Yeah. He's probably still mad that I decided to take the exam, huh?" She laughed.

"Queen Obvious." Kai snorted, "That guy has issues."

"Don't talk about my brother like that." She rolled her eyes, "We need to find some place to use as shelter."

"And food." Toshizo whined, his stomach growling loudly.

Kai offered the girl a hand but she just stared at it, "What?"

She shook her head slowly and the tiger behind her began to shift awkwardly.

"What?" He repeated.

"Nothing. I just don't want to get up yet."

"She can't get up, you fool." The tiger roared.

"Whoa!" Toshizo screamed, "It can talk?"

The tiger inclined its head, "I'm not stupid if that's what you were going to say."

"What's your name?" Kori asked, as if it was a given that it could talk.

"Rokuro." He growled, "You may call me your servant, Master."

"Whoa!" She protested, "You saved Saizo's life and you want me to call you servant? You can be my best friend if you want."

The tiger seemed taken by surprise, "It's not everyday someone ends up being able to summon me from that scroll, Master. My family would be most disappointed in me if I were to be anything but your servant."

"There are more of you?"

"Yes, Kori-sama."

"Oh god… Could you not call me that?"

"Kori-dono?"

"No."

Kai snorted, "Just keep talking to the overgrown cat. It's not like we're waiting on you or anything."

"Kai-san." Toshizo nudged him to the side.

"Kori-hime?"

"Absolutely not." Her nose crinkled at the sound of that one, "Just Kori is fine. Or if you don't like being friendly with me then use my last name, Hyuga."

"Hyuga-sama?"

"No!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, "No suffixes allowed!"

"Is that an order, Master?" Rokuro looked down at the girl with a questioning look.

"No… You can do whatever you want but…." She looked completely defeated.

Kai scooped the girl up in his arms, his wounds were screaming for him to put her down and crawl to the nearest hospital but he bit back those feelings, "You're taking too damn long. Let's go."

Toshizo and Rokuro exchanged odd looks, "Rokuro-san… Did I miss something?"

"I met you all today. How should I know?"

"Put me down, you big jerk!" Kori squirmed in his arms a little more than necessary in Kai's opinion, "I'm going to punch you in the gut in a minute."

"Yeah right." He snorted, "Just sit still while we find a shelter."

"By the way… Why did Neji attack you?"

He snorted. He couldn't just tell her that her brother didn't like the thought of his only sister being held by some guy he didn't know but he didn't feel like lying to her either. Oh gods, his heartbeat was starting to speed up. He almost felt like dropping her with the hopes that she wouldn't hear his heartbeat, "Well… He couldn't attack you so I guess he attacked me."

"Oh." She nodded, not really understanding the point in that, "Boys are so complicated."

"What?" Kai lifted an eyebrow, glancing down at her, "You've got it all wrong. Girls are complicated."

"I thought you didn't like girls." She snorted, pointing towards… Only god knows where, "Go that way."

"I don't like girls…" He glared down at her, "But I'm not gay if that's what you're saying."

"Then… You're bi?" She pointed again, "That way."

"I'm perfectly straight." He stated, following her directions.

She laughed, "I was joking. I know. Although I wouldn't mind if you were gay…"

He shot another glare at her, "I'm. Not. Gay."

"Go that way." She pointed again, the veins around her eyes finally relaxing, "There should be a giant tree with some open space under its roots we can use as a hiding spot for now. I. Know. You're. Not. Gay."

"Good." He grunted.

"Kori!"

Kai groaned, "Dog boy."

"Kiba!" She waved to the boy who seemed almost completely unharmed.

"I knew I smelled you." He allowed Akamaru to run over to her.

"Oh. My. God." She screamed when a giant leech was held in front of her face, "Get away from me!"

"It's just a leech, Kori." Kai snorted when she buried her face into his shirt mumbling something completely inaudible.

"I'm not going to move it until you say your greetings to me." Shino elbowed the girl.

"Hi, Shino…" Kori grumbled.

"Good." He pulled away and dropped the leech in the bushes nearby.

"Kori-chan… O-Oh no! A-Are you okay?" Hinata's voice reached her ears and she immediately jumped out of Kai's arms.

"Hinata-sama!" She stiffened considerably as pain shot up her back and down her hand from the sudden movement, "It's good to see that you're alright."

"KORI!" Kiba screamed, "What the hell is that thing?!"

"Rokuro." She deadpanned.

Akamaru was barking wildly at the rather large tiger, whose white fur was stained with her blood.

Kiba growled, "He's got your blood on him!"

"I know." She nodded.

Kiba drew his friend closer to his side, "I've got you. Let me get rid of that thing for you."

"Nah. That's my best friend." She laughed at the expression on his face, "He replaced you."

Kiba frowned at her joke, "Not funny."

"Rokuro! This is Inuzuka Kiba." She pointed at Akamaru, "And that's Akamaru."

"Your choice in friends is… Strange, Master." Rokuro inclined his head as respectfully as his instincts would allow.

"I thought so too." She nodded, "But it's alright since you've replaced him."

"Hey!" Kiba protested, "I don't remember being replaced! You can't just-!"

"Shh." She hissed, "I was joking but if you yell any louder you're going to give us away and then I'll really replace you."

He grinned widely, "So when are you going to introduce me to your new teammates? And how come they aren't taking the exams?"

"Cause they wanted to avoid you, the worst person in the world."

"Don't be that way." He whined, "I'm serious."

"I was too." She rolled her eyes when he grabbed her arm tightly.

"I didn't come to argue with you. I came to warn you." He lowered his voice suddenly, "My team and I came across a trio of foreign shinobi. They were crazy strong."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sand shinobi. They all carried something on their back. A fan, a gourd, something completely wrapped in bandages but that's not what was scary about them. When they confronted another team for their scroll, the guy with the gourd killed all three of them in a split second. It was over before I could even blink."

"Why are you warning us? If they're as strong as you say, it's probably safe to assume that they've already reached the tower and completed the test."

"No. The one with the gourd is bloodthirsty so if you come across them while you're heading to the tower, he'll kill you. You have to promise me that you'll run if you see them."

"If he's really as bloodthirsty as you think, he'll come after us anyways."

"He's a monster. Just don't try to fight him." Kiba warned.

"I've got an idea! Let's just all head to the tower together." Toshizo laughed nervously, "Safety in numbers, right?"

"Good idea." Shino nodded.

"No way!" Both Kai and Kori snapped, "I refuse to go anywhere with him!"

Shino sweat dropped, "I won't put any bugs on you."

Kiba held his hands up in defense, "I didn't do anything to you, Kai. That's just unfriendly."

"Umm… I think it's a good idea too." Hinata said meekly.

"Hinata-sama." Kori whined, "Rokuro… You have to keep Shino away from me."

"We found this tree for nothing." Toshizo sighed.

Luckily for them the sun was already beginning to set and most teams were tired out from the day's work. The Sand trio was nowhere in sight and both teams made it to the tower safely. Kiba held his arm up as soon as they had reached the entrance, "Hold on."

"What?" Both teams were immediately on guard.

"Shino, Hinata…" Kiba's serious expression broke into a wide grin, "We're going in first!"

Kori, Kai, and Toshizo froze and watched the boy drag his team in merrily. They exchanged looks, "That guy… He spooked us for nothing. He just wanted his team to reach the tower before ours…."

"Let's take this door." Toshizo gestured to the next opening.

"The scrolls?" Kai held out his hand for both scrolls.

Kori shoved him aside and entered the room, fishing the scrolls out of her shirt carefully, "I'm never putting anything in there again."

Kai rolled his eyes and unrolled the scrolls with a flick of his wrists, "A summoning mark!"

He flung the scrolls to the floor and backed away quickly.

Kori sighed, "Not again!"

"He's…" Toshizo pointed at the man who appeared as soon as the smoke cleared, "He…"

"Close your mouth." Kai slammed the boy's mouth shut, "You're going to start drooling."

"Congratulations." The man with dark spiky hair smiled, "As expected of Asahina's students."

"You were one of the chunin proctors from the first round."

"That's right." He nodded, "Hagane Kotetsu is the name."

"Hagane… Kotetsu-san." Toshizo fidgeted uncomfortably, "Why are you here?"

He yawned lightly, "I'm not entirely sure myself… I was told to do something but it seems a little troublesome so I'll keep it short."

"He's lazy as hell." Kai snorted.

"The second exam tests the mind and the body. Qualities you need if you're going to command your own squad." He literally kept things short, "If you don't get it, ask Asahina later."

"Asahina-sensei is here?"

"She'll probably be here when the five days is over." Kotetsu checked his watch, "You guys have to wait four days and sixteen hours. You guys are pretty fast."

"How many teams arrived before ours?" Kai smirked.

"Three. A team from the sand, Gai's team, and Kurenai's team." He shook his head, "You guys are the fourth team to arrive. That's bad luck."

"Why?" Toshizo tried not to look scared.

"Four is the number of death. Haven't you heard from Asahina?" Kotetsu chuckled, "She hates that number."

"Why is that?"

"You don't know anything about your teacher, do you?" He snorted, "Ask her yourselves."

"That's another way of saying he doesn't know anything himself." Kai snorted.

Kotetsu twitched, "I'm not going to lose my patience with a little brat."

"See?" Kai nudged Toshizo with his elbow, "That guy is just acting like he knows more than we do."

He turned and glared at the three, "Her first crush was Uchiha Obito!"

"Huh? Why do we want to know that?" Kai snorted, "I don't know that guy so I don't care."

Kotetsu's eyebrow twitched madly with annoyance as he tried to keep from telling them any information that could possibly make the woman angry, "Her father was a hero."

"Well she's famous too so I don't think that's a surprise." He snorted.

"Her father was killed by Kakashi!" He blurted and then slapped a hand over his mouth, "Shit. Fuck! I'm dead…"

He immediately had the attention of all three genin.

Kai hummed, "Hmm… That was interesting. Tell me more."

"Kotetsu! What are you telling the kids?" Asahina was hanging from the ceiling upside down, "I don't believe you told them my first crush was Obito-kun."

"You're not mad that I told them Kakashi killed your father?"

"Not really…" She glared down at him threateningly, "Now get lost before I send you flying."

Kotetsu scrambled out of the room screaming his final words, "Sorry!"

"Hey… Asahina-sensei." Toshizo stuttered out, "We didn't mean to pry into your private life."

"No big deal cause I don't really keep that a secret…" She smiled, "But don't shove it in Kakashi's face. He still feels bad about it."

"I would too." Toshizo nodded, "What are you doing here, by the way?"

"I'm supposed to be here for the next part of the test and when I heard you guys were done I came to see you guys." Asahina flipped down and gestured towards the next door, "Go in. Rest a while. Get some stitches, lose the adrenaline, eat some food, get some bandages."

"Where are you going?" Kai asked, annoyed as the medics approached them.

"To beat Kotetsu's ass." She cracked her knuckles a few times before walking away without turning back.

Kotetsu shivered from his hiding spot and scrambled to find a new one.

"You're not very good at hiding." She leaned over the sofa in the break room, "My kids are already waiting in the prelim room."

"You're not going to hit me?"

"Nah. I just said that to look cool in front of my students." She grinned, "It's not a big deal anyways. Obito didn't know."

"Yes he did." Kotetsu slapped his hand over his mouth again and gulped when the woman glared at him, "Kakashi told him! … But don't tell him I told you."

"Kakashi…?" She was smiling quite sadistically and Kotetsu wanted nothing more than to run away, "How do you know?"

"I was there!" He held his hands up when she cracked her knuckles, "I swear I'm not lying."

She sighed, "Well he's dead…. So that's not a big deal either. I hate Kakashi…"

"Sorry to interrupt your time with your boyfriend." Speak of the devil, Kakashi was standing by the doorway, "I happen to know that you hate me now. Thanks for telling me a little late. Hokage-sama is calling for us."

Kotetsu sighed, it was one long awkward walk to the monitoring room where the Hokage was waiting for them.


	13. All Sorts of Interruptions

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.  
**_

* * *

"Anko!" Asahina kneeled beside the woman, "What happened?"

"Calm down, Asahina." The Hokage grumbled, "She has made contact with Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?" She hissed, "We have to stop the exam."

"I don't know who made you the boss but I don't want to." Kakashi snorted.

"Kakashi… You really want to fight don't you?"

Kurenai was between them in the blink of an eye, "Stop it."

"A lovers' spat?" Asuma chuckled.

"No one wants to be that guy's lover!"

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched, the woman really knew how to hit a soft spot, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Either way." The Hokage cleared his throat, regaining their attention, "We cannot stop the exam because Orochimaru has threatened to attack if we tried to stop it. We have no choice but to continue as planned. Keep an eye out for him."

"Yes sir." The jonin grumbled, heading back to their previous business.

"Asahina!" Gai gave her that bright eyed, sparkling teeth smile of his, "Did you get into a fight with Kakashi?"

"Fight?" She snorted, "I hate that guy and that's all there is to it."

"Beautiful!" He cooed, "Then you'll be on my side in the next competition, right?"

"What are you two talking about?" Kakashi's naturally lazy voice drawled.

"None of your business, stupid." The female jonin snapped.

"I wasn't talking to you either way. Gai, what were you talking about?"

"How much she disliked you?" The bushy-browed jonin shrugged, "I was just getting to the point where I was going to ask for a training date."

"Like she'd go on a date with you." Kakashi waved him off coolly.

"You know what… I think I want to train with you, Gai." Asahina took him by the arm and pulled him away, "When the exams are done, I'll join you for some training."

"And lunch?" Gai's excited voice rang through the hallway as he followed after the red haired woman.

"And lunch!" The woman stated, loudly enough for Kakashi to hear, "At least I can trust you not to tell my crush that I like him!"

Kakashi glared down the hallway after them and Asahina could feel his glare burning into the back of her head but she kept walking. Kakashi wasn't the type to raise his voice. He hardly ever yelled at anyone, ever, so the conversation was over.

Gai was yelling something about being youthful and young but she wasn't listening. She was almost certain there was steam coming out of her ears and thinking about Kakashi wasn't making it any better. Asuma had approached them at some point but she wasn't really listening to either of them as they discussed something about youth and women. She looked over her shoulder and barely caught a glimpse of Kakashi, leaning against the wall with his head tilted back to look at the ceiling but turned and kept walking.

Kakashi caught her looking back from the corner of his eye but sighed when she turned right back around and kept walking, "Great. Now she's never going to talk to you, Kakashi. Great going."

"Kakashi-sensei? Talking to yourself is bad."

Kakashi turned his eye down to the new presence lazily, "You're one of Asahina's students. She went that way."

Kori nodded, "I'm not really looking for her though. Did you argue with her?"

"She'll get over it." He grinned down at the girl, "She always does."

Kori held a red tulip out in front of her, "Give it to her."

"Now why would I do that?" He chuckled, "She doesn't like flowers."

"I got it from the Forest of Death." She smiled, "You can tell her that you took the time to get it from that… horrible place."

He accepted it with a smile, "I'll just give it to Kurenai."

"Asahina-sensei likes flowers."

His eye widened slightly, "How do you know? She always told me hated flowers. She's never received flowers… Ever."

"That's probably why she hates them." Kori smiled up at the teacher, "Give it to her."

He ruffled the genin's blue hair, "I will."

She straightened her hair, pouting subconsciously, "Good luck."

He tossed a wave over his shoulder, "Thanks. By the way, you look good with your hair down too."

Kori felt her face heat up slightly, "Wha-?"

"Should I say something like that to her?" He grinned over his shoulder.

The girl nodded, flustered, "Her hair is always down though so maybe a different compliment?"

"The compliment was meant to be a thanks for the flower." He turned and continued down the hall, "I wasn't joking either."

As soon as he was out of sight, the girl tied her hair back up, "If Asahina-sensei finds out he said that… God… She'll kill me."

A slithering sound had turned her head towards the other end of the hallway. The trio from Sunagakure was heading her direction and she remembered Kiba's warning. She remembered them from when she had previously encountered them. Sabaku no Gaara, Kankuro, and the girl with the fan she had never bothered to remember.

Kankuro glared straight at her when he spotted her, "You!"

"You." She mocked.

The slithering sound from earlier must've been the sand crawling forward to touch her.

Gaara's hand was raised in an open-handed position, "Hyuga Kori."

"Sabaku no Gaara." She snorted, not moving when the sand crawled up her bare calves, "The sand is your doing?"

He glared at her, "I'll kill you."

Following the movements of his hands, the sand slithered up her body. The blond was already starting to panic, "Gaara! That's enough."

"Temari!" Kankuro hissed, "Just let him kill her."

"We've already completed the exam. If we kill her, we'll be disqualified!" Temari hissed right back, "Stop him."

"Shut up!" Gaara commanded, "I must prove my existence. Let me feel your blood!"

Kori's legs were shaking in a sort of adrenaline-filled state of fear as she clapped her hands together, "Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Style: Liquid Bullet)"

The sand sank to the ground in a clomp of wet goop, much like the sand at the end of a beach. Gaara growled a flow of sand lurching toward the girl from his gourd, "Let me feel alive!"

She clapped her hands together again and took a deep breath but a voice rang out in time to stop both genin, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The Hokage stood at the end of the hallway with Anko. The voice had obviously come from the female special jonin. The old man was glaring at the Sand genin, "What do you think you're doing? Return to your room at once."

"Tch." Gaara lead his group passed the girl with one final glare and continued onward to his destination.

As soon as they were out of sight, the Hyuga fell to her knees, "Thank you."

The Hokage kneeled down in front of her, his hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright, child?"

"Thanks to you, Hokage-sama." She had immediately felt the loss of adrenaline when the danger was no longer present, "What's with that guy?"

The Hokage comforted the shaking child to the best of his abilities, "Nothing to worry about. You did well in protecting yourself."

She nodded, "If you hadn't come, he would've killed me."

"No need to be modest, Kori." The elderly man smiled down at her, "Return to your room and rest. Anko will keep watch for a while."

"Yes sir." She bowed before following his orders.

Asahina kicked off her shoes angrily before flopping back onto the bed, "What is wrong with that jerk?"

"I suppose you're talking about me?"

"Who told you to come in?" She growled at the spiky-haired jonin, "Get out."

Kakashi stood in the doorway with his usual grin, "I only came to talk."

"You've talked. Now get out." She sat up to better glare at him.

He approached her slowly, "Don't be like that."

"Like what?" She kicked out at him as soon as he was in range.

He scratched his covered cheek with one finger embarrassedly, holding his other hand out with the tulip clenched tightly between his fingers, "Here. Forgive me?"

"Wha-?" She just stared at him like he was crazy. Kakashi had an aloof, cool character. A very cool character. He never acted like he cared about anything and when they argued he would always just talk like he couldn't care less about what happened afterwards. He never apologized for verbal arguments before, was he sick?

He moved his hand to scratch his neck awkwardly, "You don't like flowers after all…"

She smiled, accepting it slowly, "My first one."

"What?"

"You are the first person to ever give me a flower." She admitted, holding the plant like it was the most fragile thing she had ever seen.

His eye widened slightly. To be honest, he thought she was just going to smack him with it but he was glad her student helped him out, "So you forgive me right?"

She pouted slightly, "You told Obito I liked him?"

Oh boy. He wasn't ready for that one, "That was years ago! You can't hold that against me…"

"And you told Kotetsu you killed my father?"

"No." He didn't see that coming either, "I'm sorry."

Whoops. She hadn't meant to pour salt over his wounds. Kakashi had always felt bad about killing her father. It was one of the only times she had ever seen him cry.

She threw her arms around his neck as soon as she saw his expression, "I'm sorry!"

He had stumbled back in surprise but managed to balance himself out and catch her, "What for?"

She blushed as soon as she realized how close she was to the man, "N-Nothing! You idiot!"

He chuckled, "So you're forgiving me right?"

She gasped when she realized that he was holding her off the ground, "You… When did you get so tall?!"

He just grinned, lifting her up a little higher, "You didn't answer my question."

Her nose was burning, either from the fact that Kakashi's nose was touching hers or the embarrassment of being short, "For telling Obito I liked him?"

He hummed, his breath warming her lips even through his mask, "Mmm…"

His mind had gone blank. He couldn't even understand what she was saying anymore. His nose was brushing against hers. He was holding her up with one arm under her posterior but the other just couldn't keep from playing with the ends of her hair. Her hands were firmly on his shoulders, neither of them moved. She might've answered him, she might not have but he couldn't hear anything over the beating of his own heart. He tilted his neck slightly, his lips only centimeters from hers.

Asahina couldn't feel anything but his hand in her hair and his breath on her lips. Her mind was racing passed a million thoughts. What was he doing? What was she doing? Why wasn't she moving? If she closed the distance between their lips, would he be angry? How many girls had he kissed before her? Scratch that, how many girls had he liked before her? Did he even like her? Why did he just move? Oh god, did his breath always smell like that? Could he hear her heart beating at about a thousand beats per minute? Could he tell that her face was turning a thousand shades of red? If she kissed him through the mask then it didn't count right? Should she pull it down? If she remembered correctly, he wasn't exactly ugly without the mask. Oh geez. What the hell was he thinking? What was she thinking?

He wasn't a little kid anymore. He should have long outgrown the time where he was nervous about kissing a girl but he hadn't. His heartbeat was continuously speeding up and just when he thought the sound of his thundering heartbeat was too loud to survive, he slowly touched his masked lips to hers. His eye fluttered shut at the same time as hers. Asahina's hands squeezed his shoulders in response. Someone cleared his throat from the door way and the moment was gone. Asahina flipped out of his arms, a hint of red on her cheeks.

Kakashi just coughed awkwardly at the sight of the old man in the doorway, "Hokage-sama."

The old man looked fairly amused, "What was that?"

"Absolutely nothing, sir." She scooted as far away from Kakashi as possible, "Did you need something sir?"

Kakashi flinched but didn't move. The Hokage gave the younger ninja a sympathetic look, "One of your students has gotten into a little trouble with the sand. I don't know if he was after her particularly or if they just happened to meet in the hallway and argue but she was attacked."

"She?" Asahina snapped, "Kori?"

The old man nodded, "She didn't suffer any injuries or anything but you might want to look out for her just in case he was after her specifically."

"Yes sir." She bowed slightly.

"Good. Continue what you were doing before I interrupted. My apologies." The Hokage chuckled on his way out.

"Hokage-sama!" She whined.

"Don't leave the door open next time." He laughed, "I won't tell anyone."

"This is all your fault!" She slammed her foot into his butt, "Get out!"

"Understood."

She almost wanted to tell him not to go. His face was wearing such a pained expression that she felt bad for putting the blame on him.

Kakashi was grinning again in a split second as he waved his goodbye and left the room. He didn't look back as his feet carried him somewhere that he probably shouldn't have been going, Kori's room. He sighed, his hand clutching the door knob tightly.

The Hokage just announced that the girl had been attacked. He shouldn't be standing there with the intention of asking for advice on his nonexistent love-life but he was. He felt almost ashamed at the thought of asking a girl who hadn't even turned thirteen yet about relationship problems, if that's what you could call them. He almost fell flat on his face when the door opened to reveal a very sleepy looking genin.

She rubbed her eyes, looking up at him with very sleepy looking eyes, "Kakashi-sensei. What's wrong? Did it not go well?"

"Ah… No… I-!" What was wrong with him? He was acting more immature than the genin.

She held the door open for him, "Come in."

He sighed, defeated as he walked through the door, "Uhh… Can I trust you?"

"That's up to you to decide." She yawned.

"I killed her father." He admitted slowly and quietly.

"I know. Kotetsu-san told me." She rubbed her eyes again, "And?"

"I scarred her for life." He was talking more to himself than her at this point, "Her mother hates me. I accepted an eye from her first crush. There's no way she'd like me, huh?"

Kori was too sleepy to read too deep into what he was saying, "One thing at a time. I'm sure she got over the fact that you killed her father or she wouldn't still be your friend. So she's not scarred for life."

"You haven't seen it… Her neck. She always covers it with her long hair." Kakashi had never felt worse, "I did that to her."

"Ah that!" Kori remembered how she had gotten a glimpse of it when they had first met. _**Although the woman's hair flipped up for only a second, she saw the scar on the woman's neck. The woman pulled her turtleneck up with a smile, pulling her long crimson-red hair to cover both sides of her neck,**_"She covers it with her turtleneck."

"Yeah. I did that to her." He repeated.

"And yet she still talks to you." Kori was starting to fall asleep again but she shook her head enough to stay awake, "I don't think you have to worry about that one."

"Her mother hates me. I killed her best friend. I accepted an eye from her first crush."

"I don't think you have to worry about any of those things." The girl was starting to lose her will to stay awake, "You should have more confidence in yourself, Kakashi-sensei."

He smiled, suddenly curious, "Why did you help me earlier? Just out of curiosity of course."

"Mmm… You reminded me of my father for a second." She grinned and for the first time since he had met her, Kakashi realized exactly how young she was, "He died when I was two but I've heard a lot about him from Neji. Seeing you standing there, you looked kind of like how I pictured my father might've waited for me after school if he was alive. In a moment of weakness, I guess I stopped to help you because of my own selfishness. Nothing to worry about I guess."

He shook his head with a smile, "I guess you deserve your sleep. Congratulations on passing the second exam."

"Thank you." She was still smiling in that childish way and Kakashi couldn't help but think that if he had a daughter like her, he would probably be proud.

Apparently, some sort of higher power didn't want to give the young Hyuga any peace that night. As soon as Kakashi had left, Asahina entered the room, "Are you awake?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kori sat up with a yawn, "Can I help you?"

"I heard you were attacked. Are you alright?" Asahina approached the girl slowly in the dark so as not to trip over anything, "Did that sand freak hurt you?"

"No, sensei. I'm okay."

"Good." She sighed, in relief.

"Asahina-sensei." Kori tugged at her teacher's shirt, "Umm… Do you like someone?"

"Sure I do." The jonin smiled, "What's with this all of a sudden? Do you have a crush?"

Kori smirked, coyly, but it probably couldn't be seen in the dark, "Mhmm… Sensei, what would you do if you liked someone?"

"Depends on who it is?"

"Umm…" The girl rubbed her eyes, "I'll tell you if you tell me who you like."

Asahina's mind immediately pushed Kakashi to the front, "Wh-What?"

"I can't just tell you who I like for free. What if you tell someone?"

Asahina's breath ran short as every thought in her head was replaced with the kiss from only moments ago, "Fair enough. Kakashi."

"You like Kakashi-sensei?" Kori just couldn't keep herself from smirking crazily.

"It's your turn."

She gulped, she hadn't actually planned this far ahead so she spit out the typical female answer, "Sasuke."

"Hmm… Interesting. I kind of thought you didn't like that guy." Asahina almost felt bad for the girl, "If that's the guy you like, I don't really have any advice for you. He doesn't seem interested in dating."

"Oh. Too bad." Kori was biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

"You should get some sleep." Asahina headed for the door, "Just remember that we're both keeping secrets now."

As soon as the door had closed, Kori buried her head into the pillow and burst out laughing, "That was easy."


	14. In Place of War

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Five days in the Forest of Death had most teams tired out but in the end a total of nine teams stood in the tower side by side. The proud jonin teachers stood facing their genin students. The Hokage stood in the center of the room with a serious look on his face. Asahina stood awkwardly between Kakashi and Gai. As if standing next to Kakashi wasn't awkward enough, Gai's gaze was burning in the direction of his rival. She tried hard to focus on her students but Gai's intense glare was too much for most of the people there.

"Hmm! It looks like your kids made it Kakashi! As long as my team is around, their luck has run out. From here on out its all skill! Youth has its sweet times and its bitter ones, wouldn't you say?"

The much more aloof jonin finally turned to glance at his rival, "Did you say something?"

Gai turned and shook his fist at the wall behind him, "Oh my rival, you're cool like that and it gets on my nerves!"

Asahina patted the man's back, "Calm down. Your students are staring at you like you're crazy."

"Ah, Asahina! That's where you're wrong, my dear." He shook his finger at her with a smirk, "Those are their passionate gazes toward the teacher that they missed so much over these past few days."

She rolled her eyes, "How sweet."

"Ah but don't worry! Your students are looking at you the same way." Gai threw an arm over her shoulder, "Just look at them."

"You're making a scene!" She slapped his arm away, "They're not looking at me like that."

At least they weren't until just a few seconds ago. Kai sweat dropped, "What the hell is that lady doing?"

"Kai-san!" Toshizo hissed, elbowing his friend's back, "Language."

"Poor, Kakashi-sensei." Kori shook her head.

"Hey, listen up!" Anko barked, "Hokage-sama will now explain the next part of the exam!"

"Why are there so many parts to this damn exam?" Kai growled.

"Language, Kai-san." Toshizo elbowed the boy again.

"Before that, I want to tell you the true purpose of this exam." The Hokage took a drag of his pipe before continuing, "Yes, it is to promote good relationships between the countries but not in the way you might have been thinking. The Chunin Exams are used in place of war between our allied countries."

"What the hell?!" Naruto screamed, "Isn't this just to decide who gets to be chunin and who stays as a genin?"

"That is a fact." The old man nodded, "But this is also another way to defend your countries' prestige. Each shinobi risks his or her life to defend the honor of their land in these tests. Watching the third exam will be the leaders of many lands who make up the clients of each nation. The stronger the nations' representatives are the stronger the nation seems. The stronger the nations seems, the more clients that nation will get."

"Yeah but why do we have to risk our lives for something like that?!" Kiba and Akamaru barked out.

"The village is the strength of the nation and the strength of the village comes from the shinobi in it. A shinobi's true strength is only born during life-threatening situations." The Hokage explained, "This exam is to test each country's strength."

"Then why did you say it was for the good relationships of the nations?!" Tenten demanded.

"I didn't want to confuse you kids but it seems you have the wrong idea. By losing lives in this exam the nations can maintain a balance. Losing lives in the exam is basically how friendships between our nations are maintained. This is not just a test, this is a life-threatening battle with your dreams and honor on the line."

"I don't care. Just hurry up and get to what the life-threatening part is all about." Gaara was losing patience as he glared at the Hyuga he had attacked a few nights earlier.

"I'd like to explain the third test but…"

"Hokage-sama." Another jonin cut in, "Allow me."

"Very well."

The man was coughing between every word, the dark rings underneath his eyes gave him a very sickly appearance, "Hello everyone. I am Gekko Hayate. Before the third exam I would like to narrow the amount of participants we have through a preliminary exam."

The man paused to cough, giving his words some time to sink in.

It seemed to have punch Sakura in the face, "Preliminaries?! What do you mean?! Why aren't we all allowed to participate in the next exam?!"

"It seems the first two tests were too easy this year, we have too many people remaining." He coughed out, "As Hokage-sama stated, we will have guests watching the third exam. We are limited on time."

Kai's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "His voice is disgusting."

"Kai-san!" Toshizo scolded.

"Really?" Kori laughed, "I kind of like it. It's really raspy. Kind of manly."

"That's manly?" Kai choked, "That's disgusting."

"Anyways!" Hayate raised his voice, "Anyone who's not feeling well should just quit now. Please come forward because we'll start the preliminaries immediately."

"He's the only one who doesn't look well." Kai snorted.

"Umm…" The only genin with his hand up drew plenty of attention, "I think I'll quit now."

"Kabuto?!" Naruto screamed, "But why?"

"From now on this is an individual battle so if you want to quit, you don't have to worry about your team." Hayate coughed, crossing Kabuto's name off the list, "Is there anyone else?"

Kori twitched, she could feel Gaara's murderous glare burning into the side of her face but the scarier look was coming from her brother. Neji's white eyes were shooting daggers at her. She made the effort to ignore him by glaring straight back at Gaara, the lesser of the two. At first she thought Gaara was the lesser one but she instantly changed her mind as soon as the killing intent reached her. Kori forced her neck to turn and look straight ahead and spotted the Hokage's calming gaze focused on her as if telling her not to make a scene. She gulped down her fears and turned to glare at Neji who seemed to be persistently telling her to quit here.

Hayate coughed again, "So are there any more quitters?"

"Sasuke-kun. You should quit too." Sakura exclaimed, "That mark is still hurting you right. You should quit. Please… Please just give up."

Kori rolled her eyes as soon as she spotted the tears rolling down the pink haired girl's cheeks, "You're making a big show out of something but it's Sasuke choice don't you think?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" She snapped, "Sasuke-kun if you don't quit I'm going to raise my hand and tell sensei about the mark!"

"Ohhh…." Kori almost laughed, "She's going to raise her hand, Sasuke."

He glared at the Hyuga, "I can't tell whose side you're on."

"I'm selfish. I'm on my side." She joked.

"Kori!" Sakura snapped, "This is no time to be making jokes!"

Kai was instantly at the girl's side, "Don't talk to her like that."

"I'm going to tell." She began lifting her hand but Sasuke's hand slapped hers down.

"Be quiet!" He hissed, "Mind your own business."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?!" Sakura sobbed, "Please just quit! I don't want to see you suffering anymore."

"This has nothing to do with you." He growled, "Stay out of my business. I told you already, I'm an avenger. I don't care about being a chunin, I care about testing my strength against the stronger guys. There are plenty of them here. I won't forgive you if you take that away from me."

"Stop trying to act so cool!" Naruto hissed, "She's just worried about you."

"Naruto. I want to fight you too." Sasuke admitted, earning the reaction he wanted.

"Alright. So now Naruto is above me?" Kai grunted.

Kori laughed, "You can fight me."

"I don't fight girls." His face flushed lightly.

Sakura was sobbing and shaking in her spot, "This isn't a joke."

"No one said it was." Kori snorted, "Saizo's got stitches on his back from the shoulders down to his butt. You don't see him complaining."

"I'm not the only one." Kai growled, slapping the girl's back in a rather annoyed manner, "Frankenstein back."

"Kai-san!" Toshizo elbowed him in the back equally aggressively, "Karma will get you back."

"Is your name Karma?" Kai hissed, rubbing his back awkwardly.

"Wouldn't Karma be a girl's name?" Kori asked.

"This isn't funny!" Sakura reached out and slapped the girl across the face.

The Hyuga reared back as soon as the older girl made contact with her face, "I didn't say it was."

"Break it up you idiots!" Anko barked from the front of the room, "I should just disqualify all of you!"

Hayate broke out into another fit of coughs before calming the woman, "We'll just start the preliminaries now. There are twenty-six of you here so we'll hold as many matches as we need to cut you guys down to around twelve or so. The winners will advance to the third test. There aren't really any rules except you fight until one of you dies or is knocked out. If there appears to be a clear winner, I'll jump in and stop you guys. We don't need any unnecessary corpses around. If you don't want to die, forfeit quickly. The electric score board behind me will determine who fights who. I know this is sudden but let's reveal the first two fighters."

Kai smirked, "Let it be me and that Hyuga guy."

"You've got a death wish." Kori snorted.

"Then who do you want to fight?" He shot a glare back at her.

"Tenten." She admitted, "Or maybe Sakura. I can get revenge for earlier. Or maybe even Sasuke."

The board lit up to reveal the first two names and the proctor barely managed to cough it out, "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi. The two participants should come to the front; the rest of you can head upstairs to watch from the stands. Are you ready?"

A few genin groaned as they began to move to the second floor with their teachers. Asahina smiled, "You kids decided to stay."

"Of course." Kai snorted, "Who do you think we are?"

"Do you think Sasuke-san is going to win?" Toshizo completely ignored the boy's arrogant comment.

"Who cares?" Kai snickered, "I hope he gets his ass kicked fast."

"Alright, Number Two." Asahina scolded him, "You shouldn't talk crap about your friends."

"He's not my friend." He snapped, "And don't call me that you old bat!"

Asahina's eyebrow twitched as she wrapped the boy in a full on headlock, "What did you call me?"

"An old bat!" He snarled, "Let go!"

Kori leaned against the railing of the balcony-like second floor, "I've never seen the other guy before the test. Who is he?"

"He's from our village." Toshizo noticed, "But I've never seen him before either."

"You should be more worried about who's going to kick your butt." Kai gasped when his teacher tightened her hold on him at the sound of his nasty comment.

Kori scanned the rest of the teams that were standing on the second floor. She was familiar with the other four Konoha teams, which were not far from her own, and vaguely aware that fighting the Sunagakure trio, who were standing across from them, would be impossible. The Sound squad looked like they were in bad shape. The Grass ninja were none other than Rina, Moritaka, and Ken. Much to her pleasure, the chance of fighting someone she didn't know was low. She wanted to fight with someone from her own village just for the heck of it but if she had to fight a foreign ninja, she wanted to fight the guy in black from the Sand, Kankuro. Her attention wandered back to the fight as Sasuke finally managed to knock his opponent off and in a burst of speed and skill, slam him straight into the ground with a bone crushing kick. It was over.

Gekko held his hand up, "This match is over! Uchiha Sasuke is the winner!"

Asahina smiled, "Gai? Wasn't that your move?"

The bushy-browed jonin shrugged, "I didn't teach it to him. The springtime of youth probably lead him to it!"

She was sorry she asked, "I get it. Turn that fire down. We're not doing any fighting."

"Kakashi-sensei is taking Sasuke away." Kori pointed down at the two rather childishly.

"Pay attention to the screen instead, Kori." Asahina warned the girl, "You might be next."

"Will the next pair please come down?" Hayate coughed, "Aburame Shino vs. Zaku Abumi."

"Oh god." Kori bit her lip, "Thank god. I thought he was going to say my name. I never want to fight Shino… Ever!"

Almost as if on cue, the battle was at its climax. Zaku's arms lay useless on the floor after Shino's bugs made quick work out of whatever they were doing.

Kai flinched, "He's a psycho."

"And you said they were just bugs." Kori snorted, as Shino finished his match.

"Can the next two come on down?" Gekko sounded like he was about to hack up a lung, "Tsukara Toshizo vs. Mori Rina."

"Oh gods." Kori and Kai looked at each other as if the world had just ended, "She's the only one I didn't want to fight alone! Good luck."

Toshizo's face expression fell into the pits of hell, "No way. She's that summoning girl."

"Hey… I took all her scrolls so you'll be okay." Kori laughed nervously, "But the look on her teacher's face says you're screwed."

"You can always surrender if you think you're going to die." Kai nodded solemnly as if he was talking to someone who was already dying.

"Finally we get to see your student in action!" Gai howled, "We'll see if you did a good job or not, Asahina!"

"Oh great." She scooted further away from the passionate man, "Good luck, Toshizo. I'm counting on you."

He sighed, dragging himself down to the center of the room.

Asahina shook her head before admitting, "Gai. I didn't do a good job."

He looked at her like she had hit him over the head with a brick, "What?!"

She figured if she admitted it herself, he wouldn't make fun of her too much afterwards, "Yeah… He's might not last too long…"

"Start." Hayate spat as he moved out of their way.

"You'll pay for earlier." Rina giggled, weaving her most familiar signs, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Oh boy." He gasped, "I didn't do anything to you!"

And boy was that true. He had spent all his time running away from her crazy black cat and yet again, here was another dangerous-looking animal staring him down. The bear appeared in a fury of roars and snarls.

Kori checked her pockets for the scrolls and surely they were still there, "I didn't give them back to her."

Kai snorted, "She didn't use that one before. She must have more scrolls."

"You took a girl's summoning scrolls?" Asahina lifted an eyebrow at her students.

"She did it." Kai was fast to give his friend away so as to avoid another strangling headlock.

She laughed nervously, "Yeah…"

"That's my girl." Asahina ruffled the girl's hair, "Let's have a look."

"Okay…" She unrolled both scrolls for her teacher to see.

"Oh… You destroyed all the previous signatures." The jonin pointed down suspiciously at the only one left, "Don't tell me that one's yours."

"Okay, I won't." The girl nodded.

"You know how to summon?"

"I do now." She laughed.

"You didn't sign the other scroll?"

"No… I only needed one."

"Pay attention, Asahina!" Gai threw his arm over her shoulders, "That's your student!"

Toshizo was already on the run as the two hundred pound bear chased him around the room. Kai sighed, "He's done."

"There is no sighing!" Gai shouted at the top of his lungs, "Asahina! Teach them about the springtime of youth."

Asahina sweat dropped, "Our springtime of youth already passed."

"Nonsense!" He slammed his hand over the railing, "We're just getting started, Asahina! Don't be so negative!"

Kakashi peeled the two apart, "Okay, Gai. She understands. Now stop screaming so loud."

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! Teach these kids something about our youth!"

"Our youth? Hmm… You can read about it in the history books, that's how long ago our youth was." He chuckled.

Kori laughed, "You're not that old, Kakashi-sensei."

He grinned, "Maybe not."

Asahina's eyebrow twitched, "Since when were you guys so close."

"We're not." The two answered at the same time and began to laugh quietly to themselves.

"Did I miss something?" Gai's jaw was slack, "Kakashi, you demon! You said our youth was long ago and here you are, getting young girls to fall for you! I could do that too! Our youth is not over yet!"

Kakashi barely turned his way, "Did you say something?"

Gai immediately dropped to his knees sulking, "He ignored me twice in one day. My oh-so-detached rival."

Asahina patted the man's back, "You were the one who said to pay attention to the match, Gai."

He was instantly back in action, "That's right!"

"He's got a crazy character." Kori laughed, "Interesting."

"Interesting is the nice way of putting it." Kakashi commented.

"Let's go, Toshizo!" She called down when her teammate hit the floor, pinned underneath the claws of the bear.

In a moment of bravery at the sound of his friend's voice, Toshizo slammed his kunai into the bear's open mouth, "Get off!"

The bear roared and stumbled back before disappearing into a puff of smoke. Rina didn't even seem to be paying attention to their match as she haphazardly summoned another bear, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

"There's no end to them…" Toshizo sucked in another much needed breath of air before letting loose a flurry of shuriken that the bear just swatted down.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Another one." He hissed and spun around but it was already over.

Neji had instantly moved to slap his hands over his sister's eyes as the sword went straight through her teammate's back and stomach.

Hayate stopped the match there, "It's over! The winner is Rina!"

She removed her sword without much care, "Tch. Boring now that there's only one of you."

The medics were on him in a second, throwing him onto a stretcher for immediate movement and care. Kori screamed and swung at her brother, finally managing to get out of his grasp. She didn't think twice before jumping down to talk to her friend, "Toshizo! Are you okay? Talk to me!"

Asahina pulled her student back, "He'll be okay. Just give them some time."

"We'll start the next match. Hyuga Kori vs. Happaki Kenshin."

The blue haired genin glared at the grass ninja as he joined them on the first floor, "I'll kill you!"

* * *

**So... Before people think I really have no life, I guess I should explain the reason for my update today! XP**

**I have a decent amount of people who have followed my story and favorited it and what not. I wanted to do something to show my appreciation and today my boyfriend's sister jokingly told me "It's July! 7! 7! 7!" and she broke out into a rant about how I've known her for seven years now and this is the seventh month of the year and there are only seven days left of the month. By the end of her rant my face was like this: O_O?  
So she basically ordered me to upload a chapter everyday for these last seven days of July by saying, 'You should show your appreciation! Your english isn't even that good.' and so here it is. I guess I should at least try.  
****  
Special thanks to my mysterious 'Guest' reviewer and Kukasabe Swift for their loyal reviews! I appreciate your reviews!**


	15. Revenge

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.  
**_

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Both of the next fighters stood on the first floor, glaring each other down. Ken didn't look like he was scared from their previous encounter in the Forest of Death but Kori looked like she was going to kill him for something he didn't even do. His teammate Rina had incapacitated Toshizo in the previous match and it was an image she wasn't going to forget. Kori barely heard Hayate give the signal as she drew her kunai to defend herself against his extremely sharp looking katana. She barely needed to hold the two fingers in front of her face before activating her Byakugan and shoving her whole hand into the place where Ken should've been. He managed to flip out of the way, opening his mouth to say something before seeing the pure rage on the girl's face as she pushed her palms forward without giving him a chance to talk.

Ken was finally able to put some distance between them but not for long, "What?! She's faster than you said, sensei!"

His teacher looked down at him coldly, "She's angry."

"You said she was the Hyuga clan's weakest fighter!"

"She is."

Kori's palm almost touched his nose but he moved out of the way, terrified.

He shook the fear from his head, "You're not that tough."

Maybe it was the way she never said a word or maybe it was the way she kept attacking or perhaps the way her face twisted in anger every time he opened his mouth but something made him want to run away. Ken slashed at her every now and again but she left no openings for him to use, she gave him no chances to get away, she gave him no chances to surrender. He almost screamed when her leg flipped up and slammed into his head. She was a Hyuga! What the heck was she doing, kicking him like that? Could she possibly use something like the gentle fist through her feet? No way, that kind of thing doesn't exist, so then why was she doing that?

Kai stared down at his furious female teammate, "What is she doing?"

"She's a retard." Tenten snorted, "Her taijutsu skills are below average in her clan so she doesn't use juken as often. What an idiot."

"You don't need taijutsu to be a good ninja." He snorted.

Gai looked terrified at the sound of that, "If you want to be powered by the springtime of youth, you need to learn taijutsu properly!"

"In our clan, it's common to learn taijutsu before anything else." Neji glared at the Saizo, "Your clan does it backwards by teaching ninjutsu first. Taijutsu, Byakugan, Chakra Control, and then everything else, is the way we do it."

"I don't like your way, stupid." He snorted.

The older genin glared over at him, "Hiashi-sama dislikes how incapable she is with our style."

Gai seemed to be hearing the explanation for about the hundredth time, "No taijutsu, bad ninja."

Asahina sweat dropped, "You're biased."

"What the hell?" Ken screamed when a blast of water almost smacked him head on.

Kori charged straight back in to slam her palm into his arm, earning a scream. He barely managed to dodge her second attack but she was too fast. He screamed in a very feminine manner as her kunai sunk into his other arm. She held his good arm behind his back, knocking his feet out from under him and slamming him straight into the hard tiles below them. His nose was broken and he could feel it as she held him in place. He barely caught a glimpse of the crazed, angry look in her eyes as she held another kunai above him. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end but it never came.

Kakashi pulled the foreign shinobi out from under the girl as Asahina pulled her student away from the boy. Both of his arms were limp, his nose was broken and he couldn't say much for the state of his clothes drenched in his blood or his scraped knees. The medics dashed out to help him and he couldn't help but noticed that her face and hands were covered in blood, but not hers. She didn't have a scratch on her, it was all his blood.

Asahina and Kakashi pulled the girl to the bathroom immediately. Asahina worked hard to clean the girl's face while Kakashi made a slight effort at cleaning her hands, only to be scolded by Asahina for doing a terrible job.

Kakashi felt a slight pity for the girl, "Kori. It's not a big deal, you didn't hurt him badly."

The girl frowned, "I didn't?"

Kakashi and Asahina exchanged wide-eyed looks, "No… He meant that you beat the crap out of that guy. Good work."

The girl grinned, "Do you think Toshizo will be satisfied?"

Asahina was more than surprised. The girl wasn't scared of herself? She was really going to take a life without much thought? The jonin didn't know whether to scold the girl or tell her that she was becoming more like a ninja every day. She was grateful when Kakashi answered for her, "Of course. Defending your teammates' honor is what the test is all about but remember, never lose sight of your goal in the process. Never lose sight of who you are."

Asahina fell for Kakashi all over again when the genin broke out grinning like a child who was just praised by her father, "Yes, sir."

He ruffled her hair lightly, "Good girl. Hurry or you'll miss the rest of the matches."

"Do you think I could see Toshizo yet?" She asked quietly.

"You don't want to see if Kai's match?" Asahina smiled at the girl, "You don't want to miss his match. We can visit Toshizo later."

"Thank you." The girl smiled and ran excitedly back the way they had come.

Kakashi chuckled but didn't say a word. The female jonin made two mistakes. One, she looked at him, and two, she just kept staring until he looked right back at her. The hurt flashed in his eyes again. He hadn't spoken to her since the day he had kissed her but he was afraid. She was the one friend that had stayed with him his entire life thus far and he didn't want to lose her over one mistake. She had been there for him when his father had committed suicide, through the loss of Obito and Rin, and she never blamed him for the death of her own father.

He couldn't lie to himself anymore. He loved her. His naturally cool character kept people from finding out but he wasn't going to be able to hide it for long. Asuma was beginning to catch on or maybe he had known all along, either way, if Asuma knew Kurenai wasn't going to be that far behind. Gai had probably figured it out long ago. As his self-proclaimed life-long rival, Gai had made it his business to compete on the "hearts of the passionate women" as well. Unfortunately, Gai had declared his love for her long before he did, not that it made things awkward between the two of them. It probably made them better friends than ever before. Even through his denials, he had loved Asahina. Too bad she liked Obito. Fortunately, well unfortunately for her, Obito liked Rin and Rin in turn liked Kakashi. It was a perfect love square. Whoops, he forgot about Gai. It was a love square with an extra line, would you call that a pentagon or a square with a messed up side?

Oh god, not in the bathroom, Kakashi. Not in the bathroom was the only thought he had as he approached her without another care.

Asahina had backed up as soon as he took a step toward her. A shame that the bathroom was so small or she would've kept backing away forever. Her heart began to race as soon as her back touched the wall. What the heck was he doing? Crazy, mask-wearing, spikey-haired, sexy jonin. Oh god, she didn't just say he was sexy. Why the heck was he still walking? She had nowhere left to run and his hand had smashed against the wall behind her completely preventing her from going anywhere and again she was left to realize how tall he really was. His elbow was bending slowly as he moved closer and closer to her. She put her hands up as a weak defense and almost melted when he aggressively held them above her head with just his one free hand before slamming his masked lips into hers.

He almost growled when a couple of surprised voices interrupted them, "Whoa! Sorry, Kakashi! We'll wait outside."

With strength he didn't think she had, she shoved him away wiping her mouth awkwardly before opening the door, "What are you two doing?"

Asuma held up his hands in defense, "Didn't mean to spy or anything, it's just that we thought you might want to see something. You guys missed a lot."

As soon as Kakashi stepped out of the bathroom, Gai threw his arm around his shoulders, "You sly ninja, you! Getting ahead of me!"

Asuma chuckled lightly, "You lost."

"Asuma!" She snapped, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah!" Asuma shoved the woman down the hallway by her shoulders, "Hurry! Kai is doing something amazing! We can't miss it!"

"What?" She gasped when she saw the crackle of a thunderbolt, "What's happening?"

Kai voice echoed in the room as his technique turned his opponent into a barbecued steak, well-done, "That's the last time you insult my clan! You hear me, you fucking assholes?!"

In a flash of white and yellow lights, it was over. Moritaka hit the floor with a thud, probably dead or close to dead. Kai, who had been majestically floating about twelve feet in the air, hit the ground on his knees. Hayate held one arm up, "Kai is the winner."

Asahina had the boy on her shoulder in a flash, "You idiot."

"Asahina-sensei!" He laughed when she dropped him on his rear-end onto the second floor, "I won!"

Naruto was excitedly screaming a summary of the match to Kakashi, who had joined his team much more slowly, "He was like, 'whosh' and then 'wham' and then 'crash'!"

"Okay." Kakashi chuckled, "Explain in words I can understand."

"Kai-kun was amazing!" Sakura squealed, "Not as amazing as Sasuke-kun of course, but still amazing!"

Asuma chuckled, "You trained your students well."

"They're the essence of youth!" Gai laughed, "Right after my students of course!"

"Speaking of youth…" Asuma scratched his chin, "What were you doing with Kak-?!"

Asahina shoved him as far as she could, "Not in front of the kids!"

"Whoa! **The kids**, she said." Asuma snickered, "Gai, you lost!"

"Nooooo!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, "It's not over! Kakashi! This is a do-over!"

Both Kori and Kai looked at their teacher oddly.

Neji and Tenten hung their heads in shame, "I don't know him."

"Kakashi! I'll beat you!" Gai jabbed a finger in the man's head.

"Sorry, were you talking to me?" He asked, rather distracted by the fact that Asahina was laughing along with her students despite the fact that his mind was filled with possibly strange thoughts of kissing her in front of all these people.

Gai had tears streaming down his face in comical way, "He ignored me again! Asahina, he's so cruel!"

"I know. I know." She comforted the man as soon as he latched on to her, playing along with the situation, "There. There. No need to cry."

"Hmm…" Kakashi turned his attention back to the floor where Hayate was finally announcing the next round.

"Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata!" He coughed, "Please come down!"

Neji had a cruel smirk on his face like this was just what he wanted. Kori made sure to warn her brother, "Neji. If you hurt Hinata-sama we'll be in trouble."

"I know." He was glaring straight ahead of him and didn't look back once.

"Whoa. Then they're siblings?" Naruto asked, "Wait… You're a Hyuga too."

Kori rolled her eyes, "Neji's my brother but Hinata-sama is our cousin."

"You call your cousin, Hinata-sama?"

"It's complicated." Lee held up his hand before speaking, "Hinata-san is part of the Main Branch, while these two are part of the Side Branch."

"Then wouldn't that make fighting each other difficult?" Sakura asked.

"No." Kori's lips were drawn tightly in a straight line, "Our houses don't get along."

"Eh? You get along with her just fine don't you?" Naruto asked.

"Neji says there are many rules in place to give the Main Branch the advantage." Lee looked to the Hyuga for confirmation, "So right now, the Side Branch feels slighted."

"I don't." Kori held up a hand when Kai looked at her suspiciously, "Actually… I don't have the right to feel slighted because I had a chance to join the Main House."

Lee almost jumped straight out of his tights, "Why would you turn down a chance like that? Neji is bitter because he cannot be in the Main Branch, why would you miss the chance to be in the Main Branch?"

"That's completely unfair to Neji who's considered a genius in our clan. I was only offered a place in the Main Branch after their third failed attempt at putting a seal on me. They found out that I couldn't be branded with the seal. They believed that it would be dangerous to leave me in the Side Branch without a mark to seal away my Byakugan in case something happened. They wanted to protect the secrets of our clan."

"Then why?"

"Neji is my only direct relative. I would rather die serving the Main Branch with him than live being protected by my only brother."

"Does he not know the truth?" Lee questioned.

"No." She stated grimly.

"Before we begin, Hinata-sama, I want to tell you something." Neji's voice interrupted their conversation, "You're not fit to be a ninja. Forfeit now. You are far too kind for your own good. You never want to fight, you never resist, you lack confidence, and I can always feel your sense of inferiority. The Chunin Exams can only be taken in teams of three so you were forced to take the exam by your teammates, were you not?"

"N-No!" Hinata stuttered, "I just wanted to change myself. I wanted to try to change."

"Hinata-sama. As I thought, you are a brat of the Main Branch. People cannot change themselves!" Neji declared, glancing up at his sister, "Losers are losers. You cannot change your personality and strengths because people cannot change expressions like loser, retard, or elite are created. Looks, brains, personality, strengths. People are judged by these standards and so everyone suffers in their own right. These are unchangeable factors like the fact that you are of the Main Branch and I am of the Side Branch. I have seen through many things with this Byakugan and I understand that you don't want to be here. You want nothing more than to run away."

"N-No, I re-really want to change myself." Hinata's much less confident voice shook before Neji's.

"Byakugan?" Sakura asked.

"Our clan's kekkei genkai." Kori explained, slightly irritated by the fact that he looked straight at her when he said the word 'retard', "It gives you extremely good eyesight, you'll see it for yourself but by being able to see your chakra pathways, the Hyuga Clan becomes very perceptive. In more ways than one, of course."

"You can't fool my eyes." Neji announced, "Your eyes just moved to the upper left, remembering something from your painful past. After that you looked to the lower right, probably imagining how you're going to lose to me! You're holding your arms in front of your body to create some distance between you and me. It makes it obvious that I am correct. So in reality, you've already realized that you lost to me. Am I not correct?"

"HEY! STOP DECIDING THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE!" Naruto was shaking with anger as he yelled at the older boy, "HINATA, KICK HIS ASS!"

"So you won't forfeit." Neji sighed, "I'm not responsible for what happens from here on out."

"I'm not going to run away!" She declared, her veins popping, "Fight me, Neji nii-san."

Kai snorted, "She calls him nii-san? That's why it's confusing!"

"What?" Lee's head snapped back and forth between the two Hyuga's and Kai.

"They're cousins but she calls him nii-san but Kori is his actual sister but she calls him by his name… There's something wrong if your cousin calls you nii-san but your sister doesn't." Kai just rolled his eyes, "That's just stupid."

"I haven't called him anything other than Neji since I met Hinata-sama. It became too awkward for me."

The two crouched into the same position, the tradition Hyuga style stance. Lee was shaking with either excitement or anticipation, "They use the same style… I've said it before but the strongest genin of Konoha is on my team, Hyuga Neji."

Kori's eyes instinctively activated to watch the battle more closely. Hinata managed to slam her palm into his gut.

Sakura screamed, "She got him?!"

"Not enough." Naruto growled.

"No." Lee explained, "The slightest scratch could be enough. That's what makes the Hyuga Clan so great."

"What are you talking about?"

Gai seemed to take pride in being able to explain something about his students so Lee let him take his turn, "There are two kinds of taijutsu. The Iron Fist style that does physical damage to the body, the kind that Lee and I use, and then there is the Gentle Fist, that damages the Chakra Pathway. By attacking these pathways, they are able to damage internal organs."

"It may not look like it but you'll certainly feel it afterwards." Kakashi cut in, "You can't train the inside of your body after all."

"But how can they attack the pathway?" Sakura asked, "It's not like it's visible or anything."

"I told you already. They're visible." Kori flinched, "Hinata-sama's not doing much damage."

"What do you mean?"

"We can see it with the Byakugan." She explained, "So all you have to do is fill your palms with chakra and push it into your opponent's body to cause some damage to your opponents Chakra Pathways. It's over."

Neji grabbed his cousin's arm and slammed his fingers into her forearm, "This is the extent of the Main Branch's strength. Tell Hiashi-sama that if he's going to continue to say my sister is a retard, he should recheck his own daughter's strength first."

"What's he talking about?" Kai had enough.

"Hiashi-sama spread it around that I was a retard after I told him I wouldn't join the Main Branch but as the rumors spread around the true meaning got lost. Like how a story changes as it moves from person to person, our story was lost. People began to wonder if Hiashi-sama said those kinds of things in a moment of anger or if there was something else. Around that time, Hiashi-sama discovered that my taijutsu was …. Lacking. He began to say all sorts of things. By the time it reached the village, well, I'm sure you all know what you heard from there." Kori smiled.

Lee, who had been listening quite intently, began to shed dramatic tears along with Gai, "Kori-san! You've suffered so much!"

"Not really…" She sweat dropped when the two hugged each other.

"I don't understand what's wrong with your family." Kai growled.

"We're a very strict, traditional family." She smiled.

"No way!" Hinata gasped, her voice drawing their attention, "You were aiming for those from the start."

"That's right. My eyes can see the tenketsu." He declared.

"Tenketsu?" Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"Little pressure points that control the flow of chakra." She made sure to emphasize 'little', "Usually, seeing them isn't so special but if you can actually hit them during a fight, you're a genius."

"Hinata-sama. This is the difference between the elite and a loser. This is the difference between me and you." Neji declared.

"That guy is just a whole bunch of contradictions, isn't he?" Kai snorted, "He calls her Hinata-sama but then calls her a loser. What is his problem?"

"Forfeit." He commanded.

"I… Never go back on my word because that's also my ninja way." Hinata managed to get to her feet again.

"Ridiculous." Time and time again, Neji knocked her down but she got up each and every time, "You're lost and suffering in the destiny of the Main Branch but it's your destiny. People cannot change, Hinata-sama. Forfeit."

"Neji nii-san. You're the only one suffering in the destiny between the Main and Side Branch." Hinata's voice was shaking with pain but she remained standing.

Neji let out a growl and charged the girl, only to be stopped by a majority of the jonin from the Leaf Village and his own sister.

Hayate coughed, "It's over."

"Neji." Gai grumbled, "You promised that you wouldn't lose your cool over this whole Main Branch stuff."

"Why do all the other jonin jump in as well?" Neji glared down at his sister, "And you, you're supposed to be on my side."

"I am…" She grumbled, "Hiashi-sama would have your head if he found out you killed his daughter."

"Tch." He grunted, turning away like nothing had happened and marching right up the stairs without another word to her.

"Hinata-sama." Kori bowed in apology, "Forgive him."

"No time for that." Kurenai called for a medic as soon as Hinata keeled over.

"Oh boy. I'm going to get it later." Kori sighed. She was often punished for not protecting Hinata in the past, not that Hiashi cared about his eldest daughter. It wasn't a secret that Hiashi had given up on Hinata to train his younger daughter, Hanabi, to be the next head of the clan. Either way, that man hated her. Hiashi had never skipped over a chance to punish Kori for something, anything and everything was punishable material. She rubbed her lower back awkwardly in front of the group of jonin, "Tell me she'll live, Kakashi-sensei."

"She'll be alright." Kakashi grumbled, "Hopefully."


	16. Become Strong

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.  
**

* * *

"Rock Lee vs. Gaara." Hayate coughed out.

Kai growled, "That guy needs to get a cough drop or something! I had to listen to that disgusting voice of his all day!"

"I still think it's pretty attractive." Kori laughed, "Nice and raspy."

"Oh really." Asahina patted the girl's head, "See, Kurenai? I'm not the only one."

Kurenai rolled her eyes with a lot less effort than she usually put into it, "Maybe you should scream out your undying love for him? You think he'll return your feelings?"

"No one cares!" Kai threw his arms up in frustration. He wanted nothing more than to go home. He spent enough time with women for the day. He was tired of the women that he once paid no attention to. He wanted to rewind his life so that he could go back to the Academy and completely ignore girls again.

"Jeez, Saizo." Kori elbowed him hard, "We're just trying to amuse the lady."

"Don't worry too much about Hinata." Asahina bumped her friend's hip with hers, "She'll be okay. Think about someone else instead. You know, like Asuma."

Kurenai almost laughed at the way her friend moved her eyebrows suggestively, "Shut up."

"Girls!" Kai growled and stomped over to join Naruto's group of almost all male shinobi, with the exception of Sakura.

"Finally decided that Asahina was too wild for you?" Asuma chuckled, "Only a joke, kid."

"Well son!" Gai wrapped an arm around the genin's shoulder, "Does Asahina say anything about me?"

He blinked a few times, "No…"

"And about Kakashi?"

"Every once in a while she says she hates him and sometimes she'll just glare us into silence." Kai snorted, way too familiar with the way she reacts to just hearing that man's name, "Women."

"Ah yes. Complicated beings." Asuma chuckled sarcastically.

"Whoa!" Kai wasn't able to hide his surprise when Lee whirled across the floor to make his first move, "He's fast."

"That's cause he was trained by yours truly." Gai's smile could've blinded him but he looked away just in time.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee's legs span in a furious rotating movement.

Gaara's sand had sent Lee flying back. Despite all of his speed, Gaara's sand was keeping Lee at a considerable distance. Taijutsu is close combat, there was no way that Lee could win if he couldn't get close to the sand ninja. Sakura seemed completely confused, "Why is Lee-san only using taijutsu? In this situation, he should use a long range ninjutsu attack."

"Lee cannot use ninjutsu." Gai grumbled, "Or genjutsu for that matter. When I met that boy, he had no skills at all."

Kai rolled his eyes, "No one cares."

"Selfish." Asahina scolded but it was true. She had heard this story a thousand times, "Long story short, Lee had no talent and was on the verge of giving up his dreams of being a ninja but Gai saved the boy's dream by pulling out his hidden talent. Ever since then, they've always been together and lived happily ever after."

Gai nodded and nodded until she got to the last sentence, "That's it? Why is my story so short?!"

"Shut up." Asahina shoved him to the side.

"I'll show you something cool." Gai's sparkling smile blinded a majority of the people there, "Lee! Take them off!"

"Whoa!" Asahina screamed, "No! Keep them on!"

Kakashi almost felt like knocking the woman over the head but Kurenai began to laugh and it was all okay. The red haired jonin smiled secretively as Kurenai began to smile again. Gai snorted, "Go ahead Lee."

"I wasn't joking." Asahina whimpered, "Keep them on."

Kakashi tapped his knuckles to the back of her head, "You're a pervert."

"What else could 'take it off' mean?" She hissed, slapping his hand away.

"Pay attention, Asahina. You're about to get a show." Gai smiled again.

"Oh god. He said a show." Her mind wandered slightly when Kakashi smacked her over the head again but snapped right back to where it should be, "Kakashi, look."

Lee had immediately dropped all the weights he had on him and when they hit the ground… Let's just say most would feel sorry for the tiles that had turned to rubble. Lee was all over the place after that. Kai had a hard time following his movements but one thing was certain, the room went dead silent when Lee's foot connected with Gaara's head.

Kori gasped, "What's wrong with his face?"

Gaara's face was beginning to crack and crumble away. The sand that once jumped to protect him was beginning to fail as Lee's immense speed carried him in an intricate dance around the foreign ninja. Gaara's mask of sand fell to the floor to reveal his true skin underneath as he cackled evilly. The sand came up to repair the damage that had been done and once again, his face was armored by the sand. Lee rushed forward and like Sasuke had done only a few matches ago, sent Gaara flying into the air with one powerful kick. Wrapping the bandages of his arms around Gaara, Lee smashed his opponent head first into the tiles below before escaping the rubble, "Primary Lotus!"

Kai nodded his approval, "That kid's not bad."

"Better than you." Asahina pounded the back of his head, "Stop being so arrogant."

"Look." Kori hissed.

In the rubble where Gaara's body should've been lying limp from Lee's attack was an empty shell of sand that had once contained Gaara's body. From the sand that littered the floor came Gaara's real body, like phoenix rising from its own ashes, Gaara was back. The sand genin had started his attack before Lee was ready to move again but no one could deny Lee's will to fight.

Asahina smiled slowly, "He reminds me of someone."

Gai gave her the most cheesy thumbs up and smile ever, "Yours truly."

"The Lotus of the Leaf blooms twice!" Lee declared, regaining the movement he had temporarily lost per effect of the Primary Lotus he had just used.

"Blooms twice…?" Kakashi hissed, "Gai, you didn't."

"He had the talent." Gai admitted, "The Eight Inner Gates can be opened in this boy."

"Even if he had the talent, you can't just teach him such a dangerous technique! The Reverse Lotus cannot be taught!" Kakashi scolded the man, "I've lost respect for you, Gai."

"What would you know about that boy?" Gai growled, "That kid has a dream that he would risk his life for. I wanted to turn him into a man who could complete that dream."

"How many gates can he use?" Asahina leaned forward against the railing, "One? Two?"

"Five." Gai declared.

"Five?!" She almost fell over the rails, "You're going to kill him!"

Lee's skin began to burn red and his speed increased tenfold. Gaara's sand was no longer able to even keep up with the speed that Lee was beating Gaara with. The sand armor had shattered and fell to the floor in chunks. Lee seemed to be flying through the air as he beat and battered Gaara. Just seconds before Lee's finisher, Gaara's gourd turned to sand to break his fall. It was over. Gaara lifted his hands and the sand captured Lee's arm and leg, crushing them both with a squeeze of the sand before going for the rest of the body. Asahina felt a sort of panic rise within her as Gai jumped in and she felt her body move with him. Between the two jonin, who gracefully parted the murderous sand, Lee was saved.

Gaara glared up at the two, "Why would you save him?"

"He is my precious student." Gai stated in the most threatening voice Asahina had ever heard.

"The winner is Gaara!" Gekko coughed out.

"G-Gai…" Asahina tapped the man's shoulder as his student staggered to his feet.

"Lee!" Gai held his favorite student by the shoulders, "It's over. You shouldn't be moving-!"

Asahina had flipped back into second floor to give the two some time but it appears that Lee was no longer conscious. He was staggering to his feet but he was already out cold. Kakashi had his eyes shut apparently his Sharingan was showing him something he didn't like. Asahina clutched his hand tightly and he acknowledged her warmth with a squeeze but she removed her hand too quickly for his comfort as she jumped right over the rail to comfort Gai as the medics took his student away.

Asahina didn't have much to say but she could understand. If her favorite student could no longer be a ninja, she would probably feel guilty beyond all reason. She didn't have anything to say and just stood their awkwardly but Kakashi came to bail her out again, "Gai, I said some arrogant things to you earlier but I understand. If I was in your situation, I wouldn't have been able to stop my student either. Gai, we're in the way for the next match. Let's move upstairs."

"…Yeah…" This was the quietest Gai had been since…. FOREVER.

Asahina almost felt awkward as they climbed up the stairs in a straight line. Kakashi in front, Asahina after that, and the depressed, gloomy ball known as Gai after that. Somewhere during that time, Hayate had called down the final two fighters, Choji and Dosu. It's needless to say but Dosu had Choji's head spinning in less than a minute, earning himself a victory.

Kai had enough, he wanted to go home. He was sick of all these women and he was sick of listening to that man cough his lungs out every single time he opened his mouth.

Hayate coughed, "With this the preliminaries are complete! Good work to those of you who are continuing to the third round! Congratulations to you all! Even though one is missing…"

Kai almost thanked the gods when the Hokage took over for the sickly man, "I will now explain the third exam. As I said before, during the third exam, your matches will be seen by everyone. Each of you will fight to represent your countries. That is why I'd like each of you to fight at full strength. The third exam will be held one month from now. You can say this break is for preparations. To make everything fair, you can use this month to study your opponents and better prepare yourselves for this exam. So for now, each of you should take a number from this box."

Each of the remaining genin announced their numbers in turn. The Hokage nodded thoughtfully, "The third round is in the form of a tournament. Ibiki, show them the brackets."

"What?!" Asahina almost fell out of the second floor when she saw the brackets. She could care less about the other brackets but when she saw Rina's name paired with Kori's she couldn't help but scream at the injustice. Kai had been paired with the sound ninja who had taken out Choji.

The old man eyed her suspiciously when he didn't see Kakashi with her, "Are there any questions?"

Shikamaru held his hand up awkwardly, "If this is a tournament then only one person can become a chunin?"

"No. This tournament will be judged by several leaders of several nations. If we deem your skills worthy enough to be a chunin you will be promoted even if you lose in the first round."

"Does that mean everyone here could be a chunin?" Temari tried.

"Yes, but there is also the chance that no one here will become a chunin. The more matches you fight the more chances you will have to appeal to the judges. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru?"

He nodded slowly, eying his competition suspiciously. Shikamaru had ended up being paired with the sand ninja, Temari, not that it mattered. The old man smiled, "You are all dismissed until one month from now."

"I'm so proud of you both." Asahina held her students tightly, "Now let's head over to the hospital."

"Is that where Kakashi-sensei went?" Kai snorted, "I'm going home."

"We're going to see Toshizo." The jonin pulled her students forcefully to the hospital.

Naruto had beaten them to it and was screaming something about finding Sasuke's room when Kakashi joined him, "Naruto! This is a hospital. Be quiet."

"Sensei!" His voice wasn't any quieter, "I was looking for you!"

"I know and I found just the man to help you with your training." Kakashi grinned.

"What?! No! I want you!" Naruto screamed.

"He wants you." Asahina teased.

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow wearily at the woman, "Asahina. Your student is already free to leave."

"Really?" Asahina blinked a few times, "They did a good job with him."

As if on cue, Toshizo came wandering into the room to hand his signed papers over to the nurse behind the counter. When he saw them his eyes opened wide, "Asahina-sensei…"

She watched as her student's eyes filled with tears, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry!" He sobbed, "I'm so weak!"

"No you're not." She smiled, "There's no need to cry."

Kai's foot slammed into the sobbing boy's neck, "Get a hold of yourself!"

"Kai!" Asahina was about to smack the crap out of the boy when Kakashi pulled her back, "What are you doing?"

"Just watch." Kakashi grinned, holding Kori back with his other arm.

"If you're a man then you should stop crying and do something about it!"

"I'm not like you, Kai-san." Toshizo whispered more to himself than anyone else, "I'm not like you! I'm not strong! I'm not talented! I don't have a kekkei genkai! I can't use cool ninjutsu! I have nothing!"

Kai held his teammate in the air by the collar, "I've had it with you! If you're not like me then become like me! I wasn't born strong! You have to work hard to be strong! You don't need a kekkei genkai to be strong! You missed Lee's fight so you don't know but Lee is strong with just taijutsu! If you have time to feel sorry for yourself then learn some ninjutsu! Get strong! Find a talent! Steal a fucking kekkei genkai like Kakashi! Do something!"

Kakashi sweat dropped, "I didn't steal it…"

Toshizo looked down at the blond, tears streaming down his face, "I… Can I really be strong?"

Kai dropped the boy roughly with a glare, "**Can** you?"

"I… I'll find out." Toshizo declared.

"That's better." Kai snorted, "I'm going home."

"Thank you." Toshi grumbled.

Kai was gone without another word.

Kakashi destroyed whatever mood they had created with his careless laugh, "Alright Naruto. You don't want to lose to him so be a good boy and follow the teacher I brought in for you."

"Fine." Naruto pouted and stalked out the door after his new teacher, Ebisu.

"I'm going home to train then." Kori said her goodbyes and was gone.

Toshizo followed the girl out so as not to be a third wheel, leaving the two jonin alone with an awkward silence. Kakashi glanced over at the woman, was she waiting for him to say something? He probably owed her a proper explanation. He had kissed her twice without really saying anything. He might've said something if he hadn't been interrupted, both times. And both times he could feel the warmth of her lips through his mask creating a nice tingling feeling on his own but she hadn't really responded to him either time. Was that a sign that she didn't like him? Should he try it again? The answer ringing in his head was yes but he was in a hospital for crying out loud. Either way, his body moved without his consent.

Asahina didn't dislike the feeling of Kakashi's warm hand pulling her out of the hospital but she did dislike the stares they were receiving. Kakashi was not exactly an unpopular man. Women were shooting her jealous glares, some more discreetly than others. She glanced up at his face but he was completely focused on the road to wherever they were going. It seemed to her that they weren't going anywhere safe as he pulled her into the alleyway behind the hospital. Her heart began to race for the second time that day and her mind began to wander onto much more perverse things than ever before. She tried to convince herself that this was Kakashi and he wouldn't do anything that could be considered sexual harassment, or would he? Before she knew it the scene in the bathroom was happening all over again.

Kakashi had pulled her out of the hospital with every intention of just talking to her, maybe getting him out of the grave he was digging for himself, but no. He just had to think about his book and the scene he had read just minutes ago when he had been talking to Naruto. The main character was completely immersed in locking lips with the girl of his dreams and just about to take her to his place for a different kind of action. He had no intention of taking it that far but apparently his body thought otherwise as he imagined himself taking her home and-! Thinking about it was a terrible mistake. His face began to heat up slightly and his lower half responded rather obviously. Did she notice it? Stop. He just had to stop but he couldn't.

Just as he had done in the bathroom earlier that day, Kakashi was leaning closer and closer toward her. His body heat was much easier to feel in an outdoor situation. Her eyes fluttered shut as his covered lips approached hers. There was nothing. One of her eyes curiously pushed itself open to see Kakashi's face struggling with some sort of painful thoughts. He jerked another millimeter closer to her, his eye narrowing with disgust before he stopped and broke out smiling, "Asahina. I'm going to train Sasuke for a while. Don't miss me too much."

She just stared at him for a while. She suddenly burst out laughing, "I won't."

Sometimes she thought he had ADHD or something. He gave her that closed-eye smile that she had come to love, "Well then. I'll see you when I see you."

"Yeah." She managed to choke out as he turned and left her standing there stunned. She had half a mind to walk right into the hospital and admit herself for having a mental disorder or something. She loved him so much that it was painful and it disgusted her. Speaking of disgust, what was with that look earlier? He was the one who came onto her and yet he was the one who looked disgusted. She needed advice. She sighed, "Maybe I'll go visit Kurenai later or tomorrow… Or never…"


	17. The Ups and Downs of Life

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.  
**

* * *

Training with Neji wasn't exactly the top thing on her list. Kori wanted to avoid Neji as much as possible after the first two exams but he had called out to her just as she was about to head out for a run. Now, the two Hyugas stood opposite of each other in the middle of their backyard. It wasn't much of a backyard compare to that of the Main House, it was just a whole bunch of dead grass and weeds but it was a place where they could train. Neji's eyes narrowed in a challenging sort of glare, "Anything goes."

"What?" Her stance drooped slightly.

"You heard me. Just like the real tournament, anything goes." His Byakugan seemed to be piercing into her body.

She sighed, holding two fingers in front of her face, "Byakugan."

Her brother lunged forward for the first attack, "If you really want to take part in the final exam, I suggest you attack seriously."

Kori spun and flipped out of the way. Her brother wanted to put her in the same situation Hinata was in just yesterday. He was going to damage her system so badly that she couldn't fight anymore. All she had to do was keep out of his reach. She was finally able to put some distance between them before clapping her hands together in the most familiar way, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

Neji spun out of the way only to look death in the eye again in the form of a rapid shuriken attack. Kori's jaw went slack when her brother released the biggest amount of chakra she had seen from him thus far. The shuriken harmlessly fell to the ground upon contact with Neji's bubble of chakra, "Hakkeshō Kaiten! (Rotation)"

He charged in for another attack but she wasn't about to just stand there and wait for him. In a less familiar set of hand signs, she released her next attack right in his face, "Suiton: Suihachi! (Water Style: Water Wave Palm)"

The water from her palms sent him flying backwards, the ground growing muddier by the second. It was her turn to charge in but it seems that someone was clearly on Neji's side this time. That someone was none other than Hyuga Hiashi, who barked out his command from the doorway, "Stop! Kori! Come with me."

"Oh boy." She breathed, "I'm in trouble again, aren't I?"

"Possibly." Neji's breath was already returning to its normal pace, "What did you do?"

"It's probably what you did to Hinata-sama."

"He's calling for you so it can't be that."

She muttered under her breath, "You would be surprised."

"What?"

"Nothing." She grumbled taking her spot behind Hiashi, who led her to his home silently.

"Remove your forehead protector." He commanded as soon as they entered his home.

She pulled her headband down quietly as he prepared his jutsu for what could possibly be the fiftieth time. She had done this so many times that she already knew it was coming. She sank to her knees before the head of her clan as he pressed the seal to her now bare forehead. She screamed. No matter how many times Kori went through this, no matter how prepared she was, the pain could never be avoided. Her forehead hit the ground as she squirmed in pain.

Hiashi stood over her with a silent glare as the girl bit her tongue to keep from screaming in front of the only member of the clan she had struggled to love. It was tempting to just scream out how much she hated him but she had learned to hold her tongue the hard way when he brother was first branded with the seal. She wanted so badly to cry out for help but in the main building, who would help her? She tried hard not to squirm as her forehead burned, she was pretty sure it wasn't just her forehead but who knows. It sank straight down to her brain before disappearing just like it had come.

She took a few calming breaths before lifting her head to look up at the man who was the cause of all of her pain. His white eyes shook with rage his Byakugan flickered on for only a moment, just long enough for him to smash his palm into her unmarked forehead and stomp away. Kori just lay there, unmoving.

She hated him. Hiashi had hated her for as long as she could remember. She had never asked why or how he came to hate her but all she knew was that she hated him equally. That was the man who took her father away, he was the man who caused her brother so much pain, and he was the man who caused all of Hinata's tears. She glared at his retreating back before finally getting up and dusting herself off.

Another failed attempt at marking her for life, another set of painful memories, and probably another set of rumors about the weakest member of the clan. She ran to probably the only place she hadn't been to in a long time, Konoha's Memorial Tablet. Her hand ran over the stone only to be immediately attracted to the place her father's name was written, Hyuga Hizashi.

She sighed and plopped down in front of the tablet, "Hello father."

Of course the tablet couldn't answer her but she imagine him smiling as he answered her. She sat in silence, thinking murderous thought about her clan's leader. If she caught him off guard, she could kill him. She hated him more than anyone in the world. He was just digging his own grave. He had taken her father from her. He branded her brother at the age of four. Even if she was to forgive him for all the pain he caused her, she would never forgive him for taking her father away. Kori needed to train but she didn't feel like moving after seeing Hiashi. She disliked the idea of self-pity but her mind was dangerously wandering in that direction until someone miraculously came to save her. His playfully lazy voice seemed to catch her off guard, "Oh? I didn't know anyone else came here."

"Kakashi-sensei…" It wasn't really a surprise that he thought no one came here. She didn't really come here that often but when she did the only other person she ever saw was probably the Third Hokage, "Why are you here?"

"Probably the same reason as you." He set down his bouquet of flowers beneath the memorial, "I have a friend whose name is written here."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She spoke quietly.

The jonin chuckled, "Your father's name is written here, isn't it?"

The girl nodded, "Hyuga Hizashi."

"Asahina's father is right above it." Kakashi gestured as he spoke, "Hikawa Kazuhiko-san."

"Is that the person you came to visit?"

"No. My friend is Uchiha Obito." His hand trailed further over to proudly present his friend's name.

"Asahina-sensei's first crush." She blinked a few times.

"Probably her only crush." He stated grimly.

"That's not true." She smiled up at the man.

"She likes someone?" His eye widened.

"Mhmm." The girl hummed.

Kakashi's eye flickered wildly from the tablet to the girl, "Who?"

"His initials are H.K, Kakashi-sensei." Kori hummed quietly, trying not to completely break her promise to her teacher and tell him straight out.

"H.K?" Kakashi breathed. He ruffled her hair lightly and turned to leave, "Don't sit here too long."

"Yes sir."

As Kakashi turned to leave he only had one name burned into his head, Hagane Kotetsu. They had something after all. Well that was just great for him. Now he didn't have to worry about losing his best friend, he only had to worry about her boyfriend hogging all her time. It shouldn't really be surprising. He often heard others refer to them as best friends. Kotetsu and Asahina. The sound of their names together was disgusting. Hagane Asahina didn't sound nice at all. He could try to break them up at the risk of losing his best friend for being a cock blocker. It wasn't worth it. Or was it?

The Saizo Clan sat together in their rather large dojo-style meeting room. The clan head and Kai's father sat at the head underneath their clan's symbol. All the men of the clan sat on either side of the head, facing each other in even rows. Each of them were dressed in the traditional yukata of their clan with their clan symbol on the back. Kai glanced around uncomfortably, usually he would be sitting in one of the rows but today he was sitting between those rows and only a few feet away from his father. Saizo Hajime glanced down at his youngest son, "Kai, today is a very important day for you."

"Excuse me?" He asked, not quite sure what was happening.

"Today, you have a chance to become a man." Hajime declared, "You have a chance to be recognized in the clan as someone important."

"How?" Kai was aware that he sounded rather stupid at that point but his father had completely lost him.

"We have found you a marriage partner."

"Wha-?!"

"Bring her in." Hajime gestured to the door behind his son as the guest was lead into their intense room, "That is your fiancé, Kazahana Koyuki. She's the daughter of an old friend and the to-be daimyo of the Land of Snow."

"Fiancé?" He gulped, slowly turning his head to make his first impression.

She was smiling down at him from the doorway, "Hello again, Kai-kun."

Kai's jaw dropped as he stuttered out, "Y-Y-You're the girl from before the Chunin Exams!"

The thirteen year old girl who had been previous dressed in ninja attire and called herself an actress stood before him much more formally, "Did you forget my name already?"

"You said you were Fujikaze Yukie." He hissed.

"Oh yes…" She put a finger to her lips, "I did say that, didn't I? Well, that's my name too."

"Your personality is completely different." He growled.

"I did tell you I was practicing my acting didn't I? I'm to be in a very romantic movie so I was practicing." Yukie or Koyuki or whatever her name was said.

Kai looked back at his father awkwardly, "Why so suddenly? And why me?"

"Why not, son?" Hajime's naturally narrow eyes seemed to be threatening his son to challenge his orders.

"It's just that… I thought I wouldn't have to have an arranged marriage unless I was to be the next head of the clan."

"Didn't you want to be the next leader?"

Kai looked helpless across the rows of relatives that sat around him, his glare landing on his two older brothers who just looked back at him with looks that said 'sucks for you'. His eldest brother just looked at him smugly, "This is the only way you'll stand a chance against us, little brother."

"I have to marry a daimyo to be head of the clan?"

"If you marry a daimyo you'll be a very powerful man and possibly take over as the next daimyo if she proves unworthy." Hajime motioned for his teasing brother's to be quiet, "If you're the head of our clan and a daimyo, you'll be a VERY powerful man."

Kai heartbeat began to race as his mind's gears turned in hopes of finding a way out of getting married, "When will I have to get married?"

"Oh not very soon." Hajime waved off his son's question, "Let's try it in about five years or so."

Kai breathed in relief. Five years to think of a way to get out of this.

His uncle leaned over and whispered into Hajime's ear, "Too late."

"Hmm… Or maybe in three years."

Okay. Much less time but enough to think of several ways to get out of this stupid arrange marriage. Yukie pouted, "Three years to set up? Oh well. At least we'll get to know each other better."

Kai had no intention of getting to know her better. His heart was still pumping all the blood in his body to his brain. If it was a balloon, his head would have expanded tenfold and then exploded. Hajime nodded, "Oh. By the way son, she's staying with us. So when you guys get comfortable, she'll move into your room."

Kai wanted to scream but he held his tongue, "Is that all, father?"

"Oh yes. Train hard. I heard you made it to the third round of the Chunin Exams?"

"Yes sir." He admitted, "I'll train hard."

"Then you're excused. Take Koyuki around when you're done."

"Yes sir." He managed through his gritted teeth. He was very tempted to stomp back to his room but he didn't want to seem childish. He slid into his room with a sigh, flopping into his still laid out futon. He had intended to sleep in until dinner time but his father had woken him up at around three and demanded his presence within five minutes. Kai ran a hand through his silvery blond hair, his mind still a wreck from the new information. He had a fiancé. Saizo Kai out of all people. Why? He had never shown any interest in girls or getting married. He had no female friends and he didn't want to date anyone let alone get married. He had to scratch the thought from his head as Kori's smiling face wandered into his mind, "Oh great."

The very thought of getting married was painful. He had to see her. Now. He flipped onto his feet and slid out of his yukata. He had barely pulled his shorts up when the sliding door failed the only job it had. Koyuki had caught him changing. Kai's breath came to a stop as the girl stood in the doorway and stared at his bare back. In a very ninja-like movement he pulled the yukata back over his shoulders, "You! Haven't you ever heard of warning people before you open doors?!"

"Sorry!" She breathed as if she had seen something majestic but she didn't turn around or make any movements.

"Close the door." He hissed.

Koyuki barely got the door closed in time to avoid the boy's wrath. Kai sighed before sliding out of the yukata for the second time and throwing a t-shirt over his head. He slid the door open carefully but the girl was gone. She was probably embarrassed after almost catching a man naked. Kai snorted and head out. His feet instantly carried him to the Hyuga Branch Family's house. It was much less impressive than the Main Branch's building or even his own house but it was where **she** lived. It was a traditional Japanese style house so there wasn't a door to knock on. He would just have to wander into the place but he didn't want to seem like he had come on a whim.

He pressed his hand to his forehead, "This is the worst thing I've ever had to do."

"Saizo?" Kori's voice had his head turned in a flash. She approached him from the street so she hadn't even been home. He almost wanted to thank the gods for her magnificent timing, "What are you doing here?"

"I…" His face turned slightly pink, "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to train with me."

"Oh? The great Saizo was going to ask me to train with him?" She teased him with that smile that he came to enjoy over the months of being on the same team, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"S-Shut up." He grumbled, "Do you want to come or not?"

"I'm a lucky girl today." She hummed, "I got to see Kakashi-sensei and you."

"That makes you lucky?" His face flushed again. Did she say she was lucky to see him? She did mention Kakashi but who cares? Anything to get away from Yukie er… Koyuki.

"Sure does." She hummed, "Other than the fact that I saw Hiashi-sama first thing in the morning, today's a good day."

"Do you… want to go eat first?" He tried to play it cool but he didn't like the idea of being turned down.

"Eh?" She smiled, "Sure, why not?"

Deciding for himself sounded like a bad idea so he asked, "Is there anything you want to eat?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Ramen!"

"Ramen?" His lips twitched upward, threatening to become a smile. She even had the same tastes as him.

"You don't like it?" Her shoulder slumped slightly.

"No. It's fine." He grasped her shoulders and forced her to continue down the road, "I was just thinking that you and I have the same tastes."

The ramen place run by Teuchi and his daughter Ayame was the best place around there was hardly anyone in the village who didn't like their ramen but Kori kept that to herself, "Same tastes? What do you order?"

"You'll see." He gestured for her to sit first and then took the seat beside her.

"Oh? Kai-kun." Ayame smiled widely at the sight of him, "The usual?"

"Ara?" Teuchi was busy boiling some noodles but he looked up when they entered, "Kori-chan too. The usual for both of you?"

The two even managed to answer at the same time, "Sure."

Ayame leaned over the bar to talk to them, "It's been a while, Kai-kun. How's your brother?"

Kai almost rolled his eyes, "He's the same as ever."

"Ohh…" Ayame had crushed on his oldest brother for the longest time, "Tell him to come by. I'll treat him to some nice ramen."

"Sure." He shrugged as she set down a glass of water for both of them.

"I've never seen you guys come by together." Ayame giggled, "Are you guys dating?"

"Me and Saizo?" Kori shook her head, "Nah. We're on the same team and we're just stopping by to eat before we train."

"Here you go." Teuchi set down a bowl of roasted pork ramen in front of each of the genin, "It's strange. I turned to start cooking and I realized that you guys usually order the same thing."

"Here." Kai had already perfectly snapped apart a pair of wooden chopsticks for her, "Take it."

"Thank you." She grumbled, accepting his strangely kind gesture.

He grunted before snapping apart another pair for himself. He couldn't really hide a smile as he watched her eat. He didn't really think it was possible, but she ate in a very childish manner. She made sure to blow on the noodles before sticking them in her mouth each time, barely making a sound as she slurped them slightly towards the end. Hmm… He probably thought that she ate in a cute way rather than a childish manner but it was too early to admit those kinds of things to himself but then he realized that he didn't have much time. Three years wasn't a long time. His appetite was suddenly lost as he remembered his fiancé.

Kori's eyes glanced over at him slowly, "Saizo?"

They were still on a last name basis? Kai hummed, "Kori."

That's right. She was on a last name basis. He had been calling her by her given name for quite some time. She lifted an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"Eh?" He looked down at his bowl and realized that he hadn't touched his food yet, "Ah… Nothing."

He shoveled a chopstick full into his mouth quietly.

She let out a small laugh, "You weirdo."

Kori had already returned to finishing her food and with the way he ate, he had finished before her. He made sure to drain the bowl of every ounce of soup in it and watched as she did the same moments later.

Ayame leaned over the counter to take their bowls as soon as they were finished, "How about seconds, Kai-kun?"

He felt his ears heat up, "Ahh... No."

"Don't be shy." Teuchi smirked, "We all know how much you eat."

Kai's face was starting to change color. Yeah. They all knew, except Kori who was giving him a rather amused look right now.

His neck turned slightly to look at her face, "Wh-What?"

"How many can you eat?" She asked.

"Two…" He tried to fool her but it wasn't working.

"Kai-kun usually eats six." Ayame laughed when his face turned a darker shade of red.

"Six." Kori repeated, looking straight at his gut area, "I don't believe you."

"This one's on the house." Teuchi pushed another bowl over to the blond, "Show the lady how much you can eat. Do it like a man!"

"Ah…" He wasn't about to eat six of them and then go training, especially not with this girl. The last time he ate eight bowls and ended up training with his brothers. He ended up puking everything out within twenty minutes. Six bowls was a stretch. If he ate six of them, he would probably have to go to the bathroom and end up having trouble keeping his food down. He shook his head to convince himself to stop eating but it was too late. Before he knew it he had inhaled three more bowls and another one was sitting in front of him, calling him name. It was over. He had ended up eating seven bowls of the magical cuisine. He wasn't going to go training with anyone today, at least not for the next few hours.

Kori had a slightly amused look on her face as he placed the bowl back on the counter with a sigh, "I know. I eat too much."

She laughed, "I think I discovered your new talent. How many can you eat before exploding?"

"I've never tried but I don't want to." He dug out his wallet and caught her arm when she reached for hers, "I got it."

"Ehh? I don't know if you remember after eating all of those but I've eaten one too."

"I know. I've got it." He put down various amounts of bills and coins to meet the requirements of the bill.

Ayame giggled and returned a portion, "You guys are just too cute. Come again."

After eating seven bowls of ramen, one would want to go home and lie there until their belly returned to normal but Saizo Kai was still not full. It seems that several hours had passed since the sun was hanging much lower than it had when they had gotten there. It seems that he wasn't the only person who was still able to eat. Kori found herself staring at the takoyaki stand only a block away.

Kai hummed beside her, "You want to eat that?"

Kori grinned sheepishly, "Possibly."

He snatched up her wrist and led her down the street to the stand where the man smiled and greeted him, "Kai-kun. How's it going? How many do you want today?"

His eyebrow twitched, "Just two orders."

Kori smiled, "How many can you eat?"

"One."

He gritted his teeth when another voice overdid his, "Twelve."

What did these chefs have against him? Was it a crime to want to keep your stomach capacity a secret from a girl?

Once again the girl looked quite amused, "Saizo? Twelve? Your gut says otherwise."

Then again, he had just downed seven bowls of ramen and his stomach area still looked relatively flat. He groaned when the man handed him three orders and said the third one was on the house. He handed over a few more bills while holding the Hyuga's hand away from her wallet. He handed her a box and the girl led him to the bench not too far away to sit and eat. He sighed, shoving one in after the other and before he knew it they were all gone. Kori held her box out to him and he realized that he had probably just inhaled those in less than a minute. His ears heated up for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day as she shook the box. He shook his head with a sigh, trying to exercise his self-control muscle but when she shoved it in his face he had to take one.

He grumbled, "Thanks."

"You paid for it." She laughed, "They're technically yours."

"Oh." He managed becoming rather distracted by the smell of some sort of tea coming from the girl.

"I'll pay you back someday." The blue haired girl promised.

"No need." The sun was starting to set and the day was coming to an end. He made sure to throw away the garbage properly before offering the girl a hand, "I'll take you home."

"Eh?" She glanced at the partially disappearing sun, "It's okay. I still have plenty of time."

"I'll take you home." He repeated, taking her hand without giving her a choice.

"Don't you live the other way?" She stumbled slightly as he dragged her off. She wasn't really asking. Her family lived in a rather inconvenient place. Everyone she knew seemed to live the opposite way.

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter."

He was acting cool but his pulse rate was going up. He was holding her hand and he realized that to anyone else, this would probably have been a date. For the first time that day he realized that girls were looking in Kori's direction with slightly jealous looks and maybe some of them could be considered hostile.

She laughed, "Why are you being so nice to me today?"

"I'm usually like this." He grunted, "Hey. What did we do today?"

"Eat?" She pointed out the obvious.

"No. What would you call this?"

"Hanging out….." She seemed to get what he was asking and she laughed, "A date?"

"Is that what you're going to tell people we did?" He asked.

"I don't know. Do you want me to tell people that?" She grinned, "I'd probably get killed by your crazy fangirls though."

He grunted, "Do what you want. I spent all the money I earned so if my parents ask for it I'm going to tell them I spent it on a date, okay?"

She nodded, "Sounds fair. If you get in trouble I'll pay you back right away."

He nodded, though he doubt that would happen. Their shadows were already disappearing as he released her hand and allowed her to enter her house. He held up a hand as a goodbye, "Can I ask you to train with me another time?"

"Sure." She smiled.

Kai watched her until she had entered her house before heading home. As he wandered down the street he realized that there was a first for everything. That was the first time he invited a girl to do anything with him. It was also the first time he had ever held a girl's hand and probably the last. She was gone now and the weight of his marriage came crashing down on him again. He was getting married to someone he didn't even know. Just great.


	18. The Start of Rumors

**_Disclaimer:_**** I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Toshizo had taken his friend's words to heart. He had done more training exercises in the last week than he had in his entire life. He was quite proud of the fact that he could walk up trees without any help. He proudly looked into the mirror displaying his growing muscles. Even if it was only taijutsu, he wanted to improve. Both of his teammates had gotten past the preliminaries and were training hard. If he didn't train harder, he wouldn't be able to keep up. It wasn't until he broke the punching bag that he stopped his training for the day.

He cleaned himself up before heading out to do some grocery shopping. Toshizo spotted a familiar red haired ninja at the market place. He was about to make his presence known but he realized that she was with another person. He recognized him as the man who had been summoned from the scrolls at the tower, Hagane Kotetsu. The two seemed to be shopping together. From what he could see, the two were laughing and teasing each other playfully. Toshizo could've sworn that his teacher liked Kakashi but he shook his head and turned to pay for his things before returning home.

His mother was waiting for him to bring the ingredients for dinner, "Welcome back. Sorry to ask after you just got back but could you go help your father at the store today? He's a little shorthanded tonight."

"Sure." He shrugged, slipping on his shoes again. Their family specialized in forgery. There were so many famous blacksmiths in his family that people often forgot their names. The Tsukara Clan was no longer a clan that specialized in both ninjutsu and forging. The number of shinobi in their clan was dwindling and it was only a matter of time before they all died out. Toshizo hoped that his clan would return to specializing in both arts but it was unlikely. His own father had given up his spot as a ninja after receiving a seriously crippling injury as an ANBU captain.

"Welcome to the store." His father barely looked up from his work, "Oh, it's just you."

Toshizo sweat dropped, "I heard you needed help at the store today."

"Sure do." He grunted, carrying his work to the back where he liked it, "I can't watch the store and work like a pro."

His son sighed, "Whatever you say."

This was the boring part of the job. He would rather be making the weapons than watching the store but this was a popular place among the ninja. Each kunai, each shuriken, each senbon was crafted by hand with great skill. One could ask for something to be specially made or repair their previous items. His friends from the academy came here often as well. On several occasions he had seen Kori's brother and his team wander in to purchase tools. He wondered if he would see anyone he knew today but he didn't have to wonder for long when his teacher and her friend came in looking like they had been here more than once or twice.

Asahina lifted an eyebrow when she saw him, "Toshizo. Is your father in?"

"Asahina-sensei." He smiled, "He's in the back. Do you want me to get him for you?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She returned his smile.

Toshizo caught a glimpse of Kotetsu tugging at her arm and pulling her over to scan some of the modified models of shuriken, "Father. Asahina-sensei is here."

His father looked up with a smile, "Taiyo (Sun)? Well why didn't you say so?"

He sweat dropped, "I just did."

His father swept a few swords off of one of the racks and went out to greet her, "Asahina and Kotetsu! I've completed your weapons. Try them."

Kotetsu seemed adept with a blade. He seemed used to scanning the length of the blade for sharpness and whatever else a swordsman would look for. Asahina was much more swift in her examination of the blade, "Thank you sir."

"Let's test them." Kotetsu smirked.

"Izumo would freak out if he knew you came here and wasted time hanging out with me." Asahina rolled her eyes, "Go back to your post."

"Hey kid. Don't you want to see your teacher get her ass kicked?" He glanced over at Toshizo.

The jonin elbowed her friend, "Kotetsu. I'm going to mop the floor with you. Toshizo, come watch."

His father waved him out of the store as soon as the words came out of his teacher's mouth, "Hurry. You can't keep a lady waiting."

Toshizo was starting to wonder if anyone in the village disliked the woman. She was a beautiful woman and no one could deny that but his father was a normally strict man. There was no way that he would have let him go if it was anyone else. Even his mother had trouble getting that man to comply with her wishes. He shook his head and sat on the front steps of the store. Asahina had already drawn her long sword holding it in front of her with one hand. Toshizo was quite familiar with swords and he wasn't quite sure his teacher knew what she was doing. It was uncommon for one to hold a long sword with one hand. It was unstable due to its length and usually had to be held with both hands. Kotetsu's blade was much more fitting to be used with one hand. It was like a giant kunai. It had no hilt or guard but was wrapped in a white cloth for comfort. It kind of resembled half of a pair of scissors.

Kotetsu motioned for the jonin to go first, "Last time I checked, you need all the help you can get."

"Tch." Asahina snorted, "Arrogant bastard."

Toshizo's eyes widened at the speed displayed by the jonin. She closed the gap between them and if he had blinked, he would have missed her first attack. Her blade locked onto her friend's with a powerful clang. It seemed that Kotetsu was physically more powerful but she just span out of the way and swung at him again. Asahina avoided being connected with his blade for too long. She might've been stronger as a child but puberty had changed that. He had become physically stronger than her faster than she thought but she had her speed and skill. It had been clear who was more skillful when she had been promoted to jonin and he hadn't.

Kotetsu grunted when her blade finally locked with his, "You little punk."

When it looked like Kotetsu was going to overpower her, Asahina just twirled out of the way. Their blades clashed over and over again filling the area with clinks and clangs. The sun was beginning to set but the two seemed just as capable with less light. Toshizo's eyes widened as the breath left him. It looked like they were dancing dangerously between each other's attacks. She let out a hiss when his blade came dangerously close to stabbing her eye out. The jonin slammed the hilt into her friend's gut and he stumbled back a few steps before catching his balance and spinning back into action. Kotetsu barely registered the fact that she had grasped the blade with both hands to counter him and their blades locked again.

She hissed, "Kotetsu. I'm going to hurt you if you don't surrender."

"You stubborn brat. You keep forgetting I'm older than you." He growled, the friction of their blades making a crackling sound, "You can't threaten your elders."

"I think you're forgetting that my rank is above yours." She span out of their contest of power and slammed her blade into his from above, effectively slamming her opponent's blade at least two feet into the dirt.

He gasped when the cold flat side of her blade touched his neck, "Okay, I lost."

"Stop bragging about your age, you old man." Her blade was already safely put away. She strapped it to her back awkwardly, "Toshizo. Maybe you could tell Kai that I'm not just an old bat."

He nodded, silently. His father had joined him to watch their intricate dance a while ago but he hadn't noticed.

Kotetsu bowed to the man who had made their newest weapons, "Thank you. I'll use it well."

The elderly man snorted, "Use it as you please. I only made yours because it was Asahina that asked me."

The red head smiled, "Well. It's time I paid you. How much do I owe you?"

"You know how it works with you."

She dug into her wallet and pulled out a hefty sum for the man as she repeated the words she often heard from him, "You pay based on how much you like it."

He eyed her when she put the bills in his hand, "You like it this much?"

"Yes sir!" She nodded.

"KOTETSU!" Izumo's angry voice echoed in from down the street.

"He's in trouble now." She laughed, "I'll see you both later."

Toshizo nodded dumbly as Kotetsu grabbed his teacher and took off running, "Bye…"

Asahina didn't like the idea of being caught by Izumo, especially not after what happened at the Jonin Standby Station. She had heard from Kotetsu that Izumo threatened to lecture them both for the accident. Izumo's lectures were the scariest kind. Instead of telling her all the things she did wrong, Izumo liked to beat around the bush and extend his ranting before finally screaming about why everything was wrong. There was no running from an enraged Izumo, she didn't even know why Kotetsu was trying.

Izumo slammed his hands over their shoulders and yanked them back, "You two! Kotetsu! You said you would be right back! What were you doing all this time?!"

"I can explain." The chunin stuttered, "I went to pick up my weapon and then Asahina distracted me."

"I did not!" She snapped.

"She did! She just had to be walking the same way as me and then she just had to tell me that she was going grocery shopping and then going home and then coming to pick up her weapon and you know how I just can't leave a woman to do things all by herself an-!"

Izumo deadly glare shut him up real fast, "Excuses. You should take pride in doing work for the Hokage! You shouldn't be running around and playing hooky!"

"I wasn't! I was just waiting for Asahina!"

"He challenged me to a duel and said he didn't want to go back to work yet." He hadn't exactly said it that way but she had to hurry and throw Kotetsu under the bus before it caught up to her.

"I never said that." He gasped and feigned hurt, "She's trying to blame this all on me! I swear. She came onto me."

That's what gave it all away. Izumo cracked his knuckles, "Kotetsu. We both heard from Kakashi-san that the man she loved had the initials H.K. Now who else would that be, other than Hatake Kakashi?! She wouldn't try to seduce you if you were the last man on the planet!"

Asahina's eyes widened, "H-He said that?"

"Oh yeah." Kotetsu was quick to try and change the subject, "He came right up to us on his way out of the village with Uchiha Sasuke a few days ago. He glared straight at me and told me that Asahina liked someone with the initials H.K. I don't even think he knew he was glaring at me. Izumo and I thought we heard wrong. I've never seen Kakashi glare like that so I thought he was threatening me."

Izumo nodded holding a finger up, "I mean, why would he tell us that you liked someone with those initials? So we thought he was saying that he liked someone with those initials so we should stay away from whoever that is. Sorry that I assumed things a minute ago. You know anyone like that?"

"H.K? I can't think of anyone right now." She grumbled.

Izumo slammed his hand on his best friend's shoulder once more, "And this guy just couldn't keep his mouth shut. He ended up telling almost every leaf ninja that passed by that Kakashi liked someone with the initials H.K or you liked someone with those initials."

"Ahaha!" Kotetsu waved away his friend, "Well if you hear anyone spreading rumors about you, just deny it. I'll beat up anyone who gossips about you."

"Beat yourself up first then!" Izumo shook the man violently, "Asahina, we're really sorry. I honestly didn't say anything."

"It's alright." She mused. There was no way that he knew she liked him. There was only one person she told and that was her student. Her student? "Oh… H.K could stand for Hyuga Kori."

"Kakashi-san likes your student?" Izumo almost fell flat on his face, "No way! He's twice her age!"

"I know." Her lips folded into a straight grim line, "But Kakashi's always reading that perverted book. What if he got strange ideas from that book? What if he rapes my poor student?!"

And this, my friends, is how rumors spread.

* * *

The month had passed by so fast. Hopefully, Kori was making her last trip to the hospital. Hinata was to be released in time to watch the finals of the chunin exams which started tomorrow. Today was the last day she would have to go to the boring hospital. The nurses had already begun to recognize her and when she entered, they told her to wait another few hours for Hinata's release. Apparently the girl was to be examined one more time before her release. She thought she was going to die of boredom until Shikamaru wandered in with a basket of fruits in his hand, "You're here again?"

Kori lifted her eyebrow, "What do you mean again, have you been watching me?"

"I see you here every day but I never bothered to talk to you." He slumped into the chair beside her, "Do you know my name?"

"Nara Shikamaru." She recited his name as if she had skillfully memorized it, "We were in the same class."

"Oh." He lifted an eyebrow at her lazily, "You remember me after all. I just thought it would be troublesome for me if you thought a stranger was talking to you."

"Hmm… We never really talked during school." She remembered that he often slept in class.

"Well you kind of entered the academy later than me and I didn't want to bother with you." He shrugged like it took a lot of effort to move, "You're a good person though."

She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, "Why would you say that?"

"You're visiting Hinata again right?" Shikamaru yawned, "It would be too troublesome for me to visit someone every day."

"But you said you saw me here every day. That means you're a good person too." She lifted an eyebrow at his ridiculous logic.

"Oh. You're sharp." He finally managed to get out of the chair, "I'm here to visit Choji. If you're free, could you come visit him with me?"

"I'm not really close to Choji." She admitted.

"I know but he's not exactly the type to have girl's visit him like Sasuke. If it's not too much of a bother you should come. It'll make him happy even if he doesn't know you." Shikamaru shoved his free hand in his pocket and clutched the fruit basket with the other.

She nodded and followed him quietly. There could also be the possibility that Choji freaks out and asks him if she was his girlfriend but she assumed he knew his friend better than she did so she kept the doubts to herself. Choji was sitting in the bed looking quite bored and he grinned widely when Shikamaru opened the door.

A nurse was busily cleaning the room when they came in and she sharply told them, "He can't eat that."

Shikamaru sighed, "You heard her."

Choji's grinned disappeared instantly, "That's not fair. But isn't that… Kori?"

The Hyuga nodded quietly when Shikamaru winked at her secretly, probably telling her not to mention that he dragged her along, "I didn't know your wounds were so bad."

Choji grinned embarrassedly, "I ate too much after my match and ended up getting some sort of stomach problem."

She laughed, "I wouldn't mind being in the hospital for that one."

"Right?" Choji smiled and sat up to properly talk to them, "That's what I said but it sucks because I can't eat anything but the hospital food."

"It's nasty." She lowered her voice even though the nurse was probably long gone, "I sneak Hinata-sama food from home every once in a while."

"Ah! Shikamaru! She sneaks food for her cousin, why can't you sneak me food?"

Shikamaru sighed, "It's too much work and Hinata isn't in here cause there's something wrong with her stomach, she in here for a serious injury."

Choji pouted and crossed his arms, "Should I fight with Neji and get thrown in here?"

Kori sweat dropped, "Neji would kill you."

Shikamaru snickered, "Just for that, we're going to eat the fruit in front of you."

"Eh?!" Choji complained, "No! Get out of here!"

"Oh yeah. I heard Naruto was in here too." Shikamaru lifted the basket, "Maybe I'll just give it to him. It'll be a waste to just let it rot away in here. Care to come with me?"

"Sure." Kori shrugged.

Choji hadn't accused his friend of anything at all but she was almost absolutely sure that Naruto would. Maybe she should back out while she had the chance. Oh, too late already. Naruto's room wasn't that far away after all, only one flight of stairs and a few doors down.

"Oh. He's waking up." Shikamaru slumped into the chair beside the bed, "Yo."

"Wha-? Where am I?" Naruto grumbled.

"Hospital." He replied, "They said you've been sleeping for three days."

Naruto shot straight up when he saw the Hyuga girl, "Hey! I heard a nasty rumor about you!"

"Me?" She blinked a few times, "Like?"

"I heard that Kakashi-sensei tried something nasty on you." He declared, "Ero-sennin told me that there are rumors going around that he has a strange fetish toward people with the initials H.K."

Shikamaru laughed, "That's ridiculous. Is there such a thing?"

"An initial fetish?" Naruto shrugged, "You never know with Kakashi-sensei."

"Who started a stupid rumor like that?" The girl sighed, "When was this?"

"I don't know." Naruto shrugged, "I just heard it from Ero-sennin last week."

"Last week?" She hadn't seen Kakashi since the first week of their break. What could've possibly started this stupid rumor?

"Hey." Naruto glanced between the two with a hand in front of his mouth, "Are you guys dating?"

She and Shikamaru sighed at the same time, "No."

"Ehhh! Don't keep secrets from me. Why else would you guys be here together?" Naruto nudged Shikamaru, "Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"We met up by coincidence at the entrance." He explained, "I asked her to come see you and Choji since you guys would never have any female visitors if I didn't."

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto's attention was drawn by the basket of fruit sitting on the floor beside the bed.

"I brought it for Choji but the doctor said no. We could just eat it." Shikamaru offered.

Naruto snickered, "Let's go eat it in front of Choji."

"What a drag." Shikamaru was dragging his feet after Naruto and the blue haired girl was wondering how she got dragged into following them, "Hey stop. What's that?"

They stopped midway down the stairs, spotting a room with the door open. That wasn't suspicious at all compared to the sand flying around the inside. Kori's mind returned to the match between Lee and Gaara at the chunin exam, "Sabaku no Gaara!"

Naruto shoved his way down the stairs first and Shikamaru followed much more safely. Gaara already had his hand lifted above the unconscious Lee ready to kill. Shikamaru slapped his hands together in the only seal he ever needed, "Kagemane no Jutsu. (Shadow Copy Jutsu)"

Naruto had charged into the room and slammed his fist into Gaara's face. Shikamaru's body reacted the same way as Gaara's, "Hey! Cut it out! He and I are connected through this jutsu."

"So-Sorry." Naruto glared at the sand ninja, "What were you going to do to bushy brow?"

"I was trying to kill him." Gaara stated as if it were the only thing he knew how to do.

"Why would you do that?" Shikamaru demanded, "You already won the fight. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"

"No." Gaara deadpanned, "I just felt like killing him."

Kori didn't have the time to feel afraid. His eyes trailed over her clenched fists and shaking arms, finally landing on her face with a glare. At the position they were in Gaara would have to break through Shikamaru's jutsu, plow through Naruto, and knock Shikamaru out of the way before laying a finger on her but the order of that list seemed to be messed up to her. It was a cold fear. She wanted to move. She wanted to be able to protect them too but she couldn't move. The way he glared at her just sucked the energy from her muscles.

Naruto was already screaming at the guy, "What?! Why would you do that?! Are you crazy?!"

"You must've had a messed up childhood. How self-centered can you be?" Shikamaru was starting to break into a cold sweat but his voice was just naturally lazy.

"If you get in my way, I'll kill you too." Gaara seemed to have eyes only for the girl. His glare seemed to strengthen every time her body twitched with fear. It was the same look she had in the hallway a month ago. There was no doubt about it. Her face didn't betray any emotion but her eyes flickered with the look so many others had given him. Infinite fear.

"What?! Just try it! I'll kill you first!" Naruto declared.

"Naruto! Stop it!" Shikamaru commanded, "We know you're strong but we're pretty good ourselves. We didn't show off our special moves in the prelims. On top of that, it's three on one. You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us, we'll let you leave quietly."

"I told you already. I'll kill you." Pure rage filled Gaara's mind at the sight of the girl who so desperately tried to hide her fear. Why bother hiding it? She wasn't doing a very good job anyways.

"Bring it on!" Naruto declared, "I've got a real monster inside me! I won't be killed by you!"

"Stop it!" Shikamaru hissed, "He's like a real monster! Forget it! Stop provoking him!"

"A monster, eh?" Gaara was still able to speak calmly despite his boiling anger, "Then I am the same. It's like you said, I had a messed up childhood. I was born into this world by taking the life of the woman I would have called mother. My father implanted the Incarnation of Sand within me. I was born a monster. It's called Shukaku. It was sealed within a kettle but now it's within me."

"That's something a parent does?" Shikamaru snorted, "That's a messed up expression of love."

"Love?" Gaara eyes never detached themselves from the girl's fearful eyes, "Don't judge me by your standards. Do you want to know what family means to me? They are lumps of flesh connected to me by murderous intent and hatred. I stole the life of my mother and was born into this world as the Kazekage's son. My father taught me shinobi skills and spoiled me. He allowed me to do as I pleased. I thought that was love. Until that incident occurred."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Kori's voice didn't come out as strongly as she intended for it to come out.

"For the last six years, since I was six, that man tried to have me assassinated countless time." Gaara's face twisted into an unrecognizable expression of built up emotion.

Kori could only describe that look as the intent to kill. She shivered but suddenly the fear was gone. She thought she had it bad but Gaara was on a different level. Her uncle had her father give up his life in place of his and then spread hateful rumors about her. He had attempted to place a seal on her so many times that she had come to remember the exact pain of the process. She wasn't so arrogant that she thought she could understand him completely but she suddenly felt a pang in her chest.

He wasn't such a scary person. He didn't mean to be such a scary person that was just his self-defense. He was more afraid of people than anyone but she couldn't be certain, "You just said your father spoiled you. Why would he do that?"

"A being too strong can make people feel fear." Gaara's eyes narrowed threateningly at her, "My spirit was uncontrollable and unstable. The idiots in the village finally realized that there was a problem with me. To my father I was the ultimate weapon but I was also the ultimate danger. It seems that by the age of six he determine I was too dangerous. He had only been treating me with care so I could be used as the village's greatest tool. They just wanted me to disappear. Then why do I exist? I asked myself over and over but I couldn't find the answer. But if you're alive, you need a reason to live otherwise, it's the same as being dead. It was then that I decided to kill every person other than me."

Kori had confirmed her suspicions just then. He wasn't killing people for no reason. He just didn't want to let his opponents continue living. It was the most obvious tactic for war and a common one. If you let your enemies live, they will come back to kill you. He was scared and alone.

Gaara was still glaring at her crazily, "By continuing to kill the assassins that came after me I understood the reason for my survival. Fighting for yourself while living for yourself is the greatest reason for living. By killing everyone who came after me, I could feel alive. My existence will not vanish."

Gaara had never taken his eyes off the girl who seemed to fear him the most. He resolved to start with her but her expression had changed. He could only come to one conclusion. She had gotten over her fears and would probably attack him as soon as he showed an opening.

He growled, "Now, let me feel alive!"

"That's enough!"

The two boys had turned to gratefully stare at Gai who had just probably saved their lives.

Gaara's body shook as he stumbled out the door, "I'll definitely kill you all."

Gaara staggered out of the hospital with murderous thoughts in his head once more. Hyuga Kori. He had never forgotten her name. From the day that they met she had been his target. He was to face Uchiha Sasuke in the first round so one target was already within reach but would she last long enough to be killed by him? His head was boiling with anger and his chest pounded with a renewed force. He would kill her someday. Even if it was against the rules, he would kill her. The girl who looked at him like he was a monster to fear would come to regret the day she met him, he swore to himself. He would kill her before she killed him.


	19. Truths

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

The arena was filled with thousands of spectators from various countries. There were twelve contestants standing on the floor of the arena surrounded by the stands. Or there were supposed to be.

Kai nudged Kori, "Hey. Where's Sasuke?"

"How should I know? Your opponent isn't here either." She noticed.

"Hey!" The proctor hissed, "Stand up straight and look straight at your audience. You guys are the stars of today's show."

"Neji. Switch spots with me." She whispered.

Her brother spared her a glance, "Why?"

"I…" Kori didn't know how to say it but she didn't feel safe with him standing next to Gaara. If he suddenly determined that he wanted to kill everyone without warning, she wanted to at least give her brother a chance to be safe, "Just switch with me."

Neji hissed when she pulled him to the side, putting him between her and Kai, "What are you doing?"

"Possibly saving your life." She could already feel Gaara staring at her with those murderous eyes of his.

Gaara didn't know what she was doing but he was suddenly a thousand times more tense than he should've been. Was she trying to kill him before the finals started? His blood was boiling uncomfortably. All eyes were on the Hokage but Gaara couldn't hear anything but the sound of his own heartbeat as he fought to stay in control. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and kill the girl but suddenly there was paper hanging in his face as the proctor got his attention, "Take a look at the new brackets. There have been some minor changes so take a look."

"Are you kidding me?" Kai growled, "Why do I get a free ride to the next round?"

"Hey! What happens if Sasuke doesn't show up by the second match?" Naruto asked.

"If he doesn't arrive by the time his match is scheduled, he will forfeit automatically." The proctor answered, "Alright guys. This is the same as the prelims. There are no rules but you will fight until one of you dies or forfeits. If I determine that your match is over I will step in to stop you. The first match is Hyuga Neji vs. Uzumaki Naruto. The two of you should stay here. The rest of you are to go back into the waiting room until your match starts."

"Good luck." Kori squeezed her brother's shoulders.

"I don't need luck. Destiny has already determined the winner." His hands were automatically over hers as he returned the squeeze, "Worry about your own match."

She breathed out a sigh as she returned to the waiting room with Kai, "He's so arrogant."

"Well he's not arrogant without reason." Her teammate smirked, "I want to fight him so he better keep winning until the end."

Kori peeked out, scanning the stands for the one man she wanted to kill. Hyuga Hiashi was there in the stands with his youngest daughter, Hanabi. The fight was more important than keeping tabs on a jerk. Kori's eyes turned back to Neji. Naruto had already used his signature Shadow Clone jutsu to multiply into five clones. Her heart lurched forward, her body almost following it as Naruto leaped forward to attack her brother. She shut her eyes for only a moment to calm herself, "Neji's stronger than you are. Calm down."

Kai sighed, "Are you talking to yourself already? Just relax."

She nodded but she wasn't anywhere near relaxed. Training with her brother was one thing, they were family, but watching him fight someone else wasn't really her favorite thing. It didn't matter who the opponent was or how strong Neji was, that was her only family and there was no one in the world who could take him from her. She had resolved to beat the tar out of anyone who tried to hurt him and this exam was supposed to be an exception but her body didn't seem to know that. Kori glared up at Hiashi. If he was in the crowd, there was no telling when he would activate that seal. What if he didn't want Neji to win? What if that man activated the seal and gave Naruto the edge? She swore, "That bastard."

"Your brother is winning. What are you talking about?" Kai hissed, "Pay attention."

It was true. Neji wasn't a pushover. His Byakugan could probably see further than hers. He wasn't called the genius of their clan for nothing. He flipped into action, defeating all the clones within the blink of an eye, "It's impossible for you to become the Hokage with your skills."

"Why do you always go and determine things about people?!" Naruto growled.

"You think anyone can become the Hokage just by hard work?" Neji was already starting to go into his hateful lecturer mode, "There are only a handful of shinobi that are chosen to become the Hokage by destiny. You don't become it by trying, you are born into it. The only destiny we all share is death."

Their voices became too quiet to hear but whatever just happened made Naruto angry. He held his hands up and created about a thousand more clones.

Kori's hand clapped together in front of her, "Oh god. I'm not saying Naruto has to lose. Just don't let Neji get hurt too badly."

Kai rolled his eyes, "Jeez. Do you have that little confidence in your brother?"

"It's not about confidence. It's about Neji." She responded absent mindedly.

"No it's not. Obviously this is about you."

"That too." She snapped, shutting her eyes again when Naruto practically flew over to smack her brother.

Not that any of those attacks connected with her brother, "Hakkesho Kaiten! (Rotation) Hakke Rokujyuyon Sho! (64 palms)"

"Look. It's over." Kai nudged the girl.

Kori shook her head, "I have a bad feeling about this one."

"His opponent was Naruto." Kai scolded her, "Your brother was the number one graduate of last year. He's most likely stronger than me or Sasuke. There's no way that he would lose to Naruto."

"Shut up. You're jinxing my brother." She sat quietly as her brother began to spill all of the Hyuga Clan secrets to Naruto. Neji wasn't ever going to let it go. The Hyuga Clan ruined her family and Neji knew it better than anyone. He hated the clan.

He pulled his forehead protector from its place to show the world his seal, "This is what determines our destiny. I was not born into the Main Branch. This makes everything easier for the Main Branch. They have the power to cause as much pain as they please and they have the power to take our lives if they so choose it. This curse keeps our family in check. It was all peaceful until the Main Branch killed my father!"

Kai had heard this story from his father long ago and part of it from Kori during the prelims but the way Neji told it made it seem like the Main Branch committed an unforgivable crime. As the story went on he rubbed the girl's shoulders, "Do you want me to tell him to shut up? Are you alright?"

"He cried."

"What?"

"Neji cried so hard when father died. If only I had been born first." Her lips tightened in a grim line, "If only I had been born first, I could have comforted him. I could have been there for him. He hasn't cried since then."

"Kori. He's your brother." Kai spoke gently so as not to spill the tears in the girl's eyes, "There is a reason he was born first."

"What?"

"Men are born into this world to protect women." He repeated the words that his father had told him so many times, "He was born first to protect you."

"I don't want to be protected. I want to be the one protecting him."

Kai had never met a girl who didn't want to be protected. Even kunoichi wanted a man who could protect them. That was always the order of the world to him and one of the many reasons he hated women but this girl continued to draw him to her.

Naruto was already spitting up blood but he managed to scream, "You're not the only one suffering! Hinata is part of the Main Branch but she's never acknowledged! She's suffering more than you! And even though the Side Branch is supposed to protect the Main Branch, you did that to her! You're one of the people trying to fight against their destiny! You're just like me! When I become the Hokage, I'm going to change the Hyuga Clan!"

One exchange of blows, one clash of power was all it took. The arena went up in smoke and both fighters were shrouded in smoke.

Kori lurched forward to find her brother but Kai shoved her down into the seat, "Jeez. If I have to hold your brother down when you fight I'll kill someone!"

Their exchange had created two holes in the dirt. Kori reached back to smash her fist into Kai's nose but Neji staggered to his feet, "He's bleeding!"

Her brother approached the second hole to finish off Naruto but that was a big mistake. Naruto body seemed to be just lying there but in a puff of smoke it was gone and the real Naruto slammed his fist into the crevice between Neji's chin and throat.

Kai barely managed to wrap an arm around the girl's waist as she jumped up cursing, "Kori. Calm down!"

"I'm going to kill Naruto!" She screamed. The awkward punch had forced Neji's head into an awkward position, blood splattering from his most likely broken lips. The medics carried him off and her heart sank.

"Alright. Now you can go see him." Kai released her.

She ran. It was the fastest she had ever run in her entire life. She even managed to catch up to the medics before they opened the door.

The man looked up, "You're his sister, right? He'll be alright. We just brought him in for some rest."

She could barely register their words as they set him on the nearest bed. She collapsed beside the bed, clutching his hand tightly, "Neji…"

His hand twitched and his eyes flickered open, "Kori."

"Oh god." She clung to his hand as if her life depended on it, "Oh my god."

His free hand landed on her head, "I'm okay."

"You better be." She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"You cry baby." He teased, "I'm alright. Don't cry."

"Hyuga-sama." She heard a medic's surprised voice and the door creak open.

"Leave us alone." Hiashi's voice had her blood boiling.

She spun around with a kunai in her free hand, "No."

The medics looked back and forth between the genin and their clan leader but decided to leave.

Hiashi's scowl grew, "You can stay."

Neji struggled to sit with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed, pulling his sister back to sit on the floor between his legs, "What do you want?"

"I came to tell you the truth of that day." Hiashi's eyes held an emotion they had never seen in the man.

Kori's eyes narrowed, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I had fully intended to die that day." Hiashi admitted.

"What?" Neji shouted much louder than he intended to and he ended up pitching forward, his forehead ended up resting on his sister's shoulder while he coughed, "We know the truth already. Our father was killed in your place!"

"The results may appear that way but that's not the truth." Hiashi looked down at them with worry on his features.

"After all these years." Neji growled, "Why would you tell us after all these years?!"

"I only waited this long because I thought you wouldn't believe me." Hiashi looked down at the girl with an emotion she never thought she would see. He was sorry, "Hizashi chose to die for the family. He already had a seal and he was not part of the Main Branch of the family. I was prepared to give them my life but Hizashi chose to give up his life for me. He asked me to tell you that he chose death. That was his only freedom as a member of the Side Branch."

"Why should we believe you now?!" Neji had shed so many tears in the past. It wasn't strange that he couldn't believe the man's words, "That's probably another convenient excuse made by the Main Branch!"

"That's exactly what I thought you would say. That's why I waited until now to tell you." He turned his gaze down to his niece, "But you remained silent. Have you no words for the man who tortured you?"

Neji's grip tightened on her shoulder, "Don't talk to her! I knew you were doing something to her!"

"She also chose that fate." Hiashi was spilling all the secrets now wasn't he, "Your sister's blood is strong. She cannot be bound by the seal you have."

"That's why you spread rumors about her! I know!" Neji's voice couldn't have possibly been any louder.

"I had no choice. To protect the secrets of our kekkei genkai I had to tell the people that you weren't even worth the time it took to seal it. If they knew that you had a perfectly strong Byakugan on you and it wouldn't be sealed away after you died they would come after you. This was Hizashi will. He asked me to look after his precious children." Hiashi frowned, "Does your brother not know? I gave you a choice."

"What?" Neji's eyes burned into the back of her head, "What is he talking about?"

"Neji, I-!"

"She chose to remain a member of the Side Branch despite my offer to protect her as one of my own." Hiashi was really just letting all the cats out of the bag, "If you want to blame me for your sister's misery, you don't have the right because that was your fault."

She spun around to clamp her hands over her brother's ears, "Hiashi-sama!"

"I only speak the truth. Your brother deserves the whole truth." He scolded her, "I understand that you only had each other but being stubborn only made my job that much harder."

Neji lowered her hands shakily, "Tell me the truth. I want to hear it from you."

"Neji, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. I chose the path that would make me happy."

His hands tightened around hers angrily, "No! You chose the path that would help me!"

She could hear Hiashi chuckling quietly behind her. What was he doing? He came to tell them that he was revealing the truth but it seemed to her that he was enjoying the fact that they were turning on each other.

Hiashi's lips turned upward when the girl turned around to glare at him, "I'll give you another chance, Kori. Join my family. Forget about Neji for a second and chose what would make you happy. Forget about being Hizashi's daughter for just one second. Think about yourself as a member of the Main Branch."

"Forget about being Hizashi's daughter? Think about myself as a member of the Main Branch?" Her lips twitched sadistically, "Alright. You asked for it. Fuck you! There's no one in the world more important to me than Neji! Remember that until the day you die! I'd rather be dead than be in a family without Neji!"

"Good." Hiashi smiled, "I wanted to tell you the truth today and it seems that I've told all the truths to you both."

Neji wasn't about to believe the man so quickly, "You waited too long! Why are you the one telling me?!"

"I wanted to tell you not as the head of the Main Branch but as Hizashi's brother. Please. Believe me."

Kori gasped when Hiashi got down on his knees and bowed his head to the both of them. Neji's grip tightened further on her hands, "Please. Get up."

"Get up, Hiashi-sama. I think I've done enough damage for one day." Kori sighed, "I apologize for my tone and choice of words earlier."

"I think I deserve a little more than just that for the pain I've caused. I apologize." He inclined his head much more subtly this time, "I think you two deserve some time to speak to each other."

"Thank you." Kori flinched when he brother shot her the deadliest glare she had ever seen. The fear she felt when she was staring Gaara down just yesterday was nothing compared to the look on her brother's face, "Uhh… I can explain."

"Just come here." Neji's arms wrapped around her shoulders tightly, "I can't say I'd do the same for you but I can be twice as grateful in exchange."

"Hmm… You wouldn't?" Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Even if it was a joke, it wasn't funny. Her nose crinkled, "You're going to regret saying that."

She slapped his behind with everything she had filling the room with a nice _thwap!_ sound. It seemed like an electric shock ran up his spine as he pushed the girl away, rubbing his rump while grumbling, "I was only telling the truth since we're all being honest today."

"Oh. So you were serious?" Her eyebrow was permanently in twitch mode, "You're just asking for it. Just because father wasn't around to spank you doesn't mean you're going to get away without being spanked all your life."

"That doesn't even make sense." Neji held his hands in front of him as the girl pulled a metal bar from the side of an empty bed, "Hold on."

"Turn around, Neji." She rubbed the metal slightly, "It'll only hurt **a lot.**"

"I'm injured." He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So? I don't care. After you said you would abandon me and join the Main Branch, I think you deserve a few broken bones."

"Ahem." Hiashi knocked on the door but it was already open, "I hate to interrupt your sibling bonding time but your match is starting."

"What?! I was the fourth match! That's impossible." Kori dashed out to see Rina in the middle of the arena, waiting impatiently for her opponent.


	20. There Goes the Rest of the Chunin Exams

**_Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters but my OC's._**

* * *

"What the heck happened? What about Sasuke's match? And Shino's?" Kori stood dumbly in the middle of the arena.

Genma, the proctor, explained things quickly, "Sasuke hasn't shown up yet so his match has been postponed and Kankuro forfeited his match so Shino won by default. That leads us to you."

Well that was great. It was a little early but alright. Rina smirked over at her, "I've heard a lot about you. I spent my time gather information on you. I haven't heard a single good thing about you this entire month."

"So?" She grunted as Genma gave the signal to start.

"I heard that you were raped by someone twice your age."

Kori almost fell flat on her face. She heard Asahina's voice from somewhere in the crowd, "SHE WHAT?!"

"Oh boy." Rina giggled, "Sounds like I just gave away your secret."

"Everyone is giving away my secrets today! HIASHI-SAMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Kori rushed forward to attack. She could almost feel Hiashi scowl at her.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"A giraffe?" Kori sweat dropped, "What's it going to do, slap me with its neck?"

Maybe she shouldn't have spoken. The giraffe literally swung its neck back before bringing it down with a ground breaking amount of power.

"I heard you were pretty weak." Rina was still giggling like a little girl, "I heard that your Byakugan was weak and your taijutsu was lacking. I also heard that you had a little run in with Sabaku no Gaara. Were you shaking in your little boots?"

"Do tigers eat giraffes?" Kori asked to no one in particular but Genma nodded subconsciously.

"I supposed they could." Rina was checking her finger nails for dirt, "Why do you ask?"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Rokuro!" Kori's faithful partner the white tiger had just joined the battle.

"THAT'S MY GIRL!" Asahina's voice was so much louder than any other voice in the arena.

"Master?" The tiger inclined his head, "What can I do for you?"

"Do tigers eat giraffes?"

"I've never heard of one that does but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to do." Rokuro's claws were gleaming in the sunlight, "Lions eat giraffes though."

"Eat it."

"Your wish is my command, Kori-sama!" The tiger lunged forward and sunk his powerful claws into the giraffe's neck before biting down on its backside. In a puff of smoke, the giraffe was gone. "I'm sorry. I failed."

"That's alright." She rubbed her newest partner's head affectionately, "Do you eat people by any chance?"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

"A bear this time?" Rokuro sighed, "I don't eat bears, Master."

"I didn't ask that."

"I supposed I could eat a human."

"Eat her. Leave the bear to me."

"Whatever you want, Kori-sama!"

"Go! And stop calling me that!" She snapped.

"Yes, Kori-dono!"

"You little-!" She felt her back pressed to the ground by a two hundred pound brown grizzly bear, "Look what you did, Rokuro! You distraction, you!"

"My apologies, Kori-sama!"

Kori clapped her hands together just as the bear was about to chomp her head off, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

She coughed as the bear disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Rina screamed, "Get away from me, you savage beast! Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Twice?" She sighed, "That girl just doesn't quit."

"Kori-sama. She called me a savage beast."

"I heard." Kori smirked, "Take it as a compliment and go chomp off a leg or two."

"Kori-sama's orders are absolute."

"Stop calling me that!"

"If that is what you wish, Kori-dono!"

"Oh my god! Rhino!"

"No, I don't eat rhinos."

"I didn't ask you!" Kori dived out of the way as a rhino stomped passed her before turning around and charging back towards her. An owl was hooting something above her and screeched before swooping down for an attack, "Rokuro!"

"Keep your feathers off of Kori-sama!" Rokuro roared and swiped at the owl with his mighty claws.

"Chakra to the legs, chakra to the legs, chakra to the legs!" She chanted to herself before slamming her leg into the side of the rhino that was just about to run her over. In a puff of smoke the rhino was gone.

"ATTA GIRL!" Asahina's voice was still too loud for comfort.

"How embarrassing." She sighed.

Rina screeched, "What was that?!"

"Chakra to the legs." Kori deadpanned.

"AGH! Explain!"

"Kind of damages your Chakra pathway by moving all the chakra in my leg into your body. Kind of like using juken with your leg but not so gently." Kori petted Rokuro, who had slid underneath her just before her knees gave out on her, "Too bad I can only use it once…"

"Only once?" Rina smiled sadistically, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Another bear? Rokuro, get it!"

"If that is what you wish, Kori-sama!" Rokuro roared, swatting at the bear like crazy.

"If you can't move, you're a sitting duck!" Rina had charged holding a kunai in front of her.

Kori's lips twitched into a smirk, "I didn't say I couldn't move."

The blue haired girl ducked down slightly before slamming her palm into Rina's chest earning a high pitched scream. Rina slumped to the floor as Rokuro bit into the bear's side. The summoning disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Genma cleared his throat, "This match is over."

Naruto was practically bouncing off the walls as she returned to the waiting room, "Kori! You were great!"

Kai was a little more subtle, "Good work."

Even more subtle than Kai, was her brother's hand as he whispered, "At least one of us had to win."

"Nara Shikamaru! Get down here!" Genma called for the third time.

Naruto slapped the boy on the back and he fell right over the rails into the dirt below, "Shikamaru! Show them how it's done!"

Shikamaru's opponent was Temari. Kai had done his fair share of research. Apparently all three of the sand genin were siblings and the children of the Kazekage. They were all probably strong so then why had Kankuro forfeited? That was a little more than suspicious. Kai had also heard the rumors of Gaara's killing sprees. That guy was a monster and there was nothing more to it than that. Sasuke wasn't going to get away with meager training but knowing him, he had done some intense training to prepare for this day. Only problem was that he wasn't here yet.

"Shikamaru!" Kori warned, "She's coming for you!"

Shikamaru moved fast for someone so lazy but then again, Temari had started her attack before Genma started the match. Shikamaru had stabbed two kunais in the wall behind him and was standing on top of them like solid ground, "You know. I don't really want to fight and I don't care if I become a chunin or not but I can't lose to a girl. This is a real pain."

Temari was a hot headed girl who fought well. Kori thought she was kind of similar to Sakura for a minute but then realized that their skill levels were completely different and the way they yelled was different too.

Kori sweat dropped, "She reminds me of Kiba's mom."

The lady had a kind face when she addressed guests but when she scolded her son, it was terrifying. Temari's fan created powerful gusts of wind but not much more or so she thought. Kori eyes widened when she realized that they created blade of wind rather than gusts. Shikamaru was suddenly on the attack. His shadow stretched out to catch the sand ninja but she was fast. Kori's eye caught a glimpse of Shikamaru's shadow as it twitched and began to retreat. Temari marked the ground to remind herself of his range. Kori's eyes squeeze tightly as her Byakugan began to activate.

Kai growled, "How long is that guy going to hide?"

"I can see him." Her cheeks began to redden, "Why is he taking off his clothes?"

"He's what?" Kai spat, "He's not planning on distracting her with his junk is he?"

"That sounds like something Naruto would do." Shino grumbled.

"I would not!" He whined.

"Then again, Shikamaru and Naruto graduated at the bottom of our class. They're in the same boat." Kai smirked, "What are you seeing?"

"He's got kunais!" She hissed, "He's a genius!"

Shikamaru attacked once more, his shadow stretching much further than it had previously. His jacket was floating in the air, giving his shadow an extra boost with its own. She flipped back out of its reach again and prepared for her attack as soon as Shikamaru's shadow retreated.

Kai slammed his hand on the rail, "He got her?!"

"He used the holes from Naruto's match to extend his reach." Shino nodded.

"He's supposed to be as stupid as Naruto!" Kai growled, "What is wrong with all these people?"

"I think he was just lazy." Kori smiled, "He slept through all the tests and hardly trained but he's great!"

Shikamaru suddenly lifted his hand into the air and grumbled, "I give up. I forfeit!"

"What?!" Kai's grip was starting to distort the shape of the rails, "He had her!"

"I'm tired." Shikamaru yawned, "What a drag."

Kori welcomed him back, "You were amazing."

He shrugged, "Not a big deal."

Kai glared at the boy. He was like a dark horse. No one had paid him any attention before his match but now the crowd was going wild for him. He was starting to feel inferior to the people who graduated way below him.

Asahina's sing song voice called out to them, "You guys are all amazing. I'm proud of all of you."

Kai snorted, "I haven't even fought yet."

Kai had a free ride to the next round so the only match left was Sasuke's. Only problem was that he was nowhere to be found.

Kori nudged him, "Sasuke's here."

Just like she said, in a hurricane of leaves both Kakashi and Sasuke entered the arena from nowhere. Kai noted that the Uchiha's hair was a little longer and he wore different clothes but there didn't seem to be any drastic changes like killer muscles.

Kai grunted, "It looks like he didn't do any training."

"You didn't change all that much either." Asahina scolded him, "You should train your personality next time."

"Ahaha!" Kakashi laughed nervously, "We made a point out of showing up in a flashy way but we're late. Sasuke isn't disqualified right?"

Asahina sweat dropped, "His tardiness is contagious."

"He's safe." Genma explained, "We pushed his fight back so he's just in time."

"That's good. Good." Kakashi cleared out of the arena just as Gaara got down, "Yo!"

The final round participants spun around to greet the man, "Kakashi-sensei!"

"Kakashi!" Asahina smashed his head in, "You're late!"

"I haven't seen you in a month and you're already mad at me?" He chuckled, "How about a greeting first?"

Kakashi's eye lazily scanned the group, his gaze landing on the female jonin. He had one hand in his pocket but he held the other one up in an inviting way. Asahina's face heated up and she turned her head the other way to avoid being seen, crossing her arms defiantly. Naruto's eyebrow twitched violently and he caught Kori's eye for only a second, a secret plan passing between them.

Naruto shoved the jonin forward by the head while Kori pulled Kakashi's other hand from his pocket before throwing both of the man's arms around her less balanced teacher, "Welcome back, Kakashi-sensei."

Kai sweat dropped, "Naruto… Don't push her head first next time."

Asahina was sure that she had thrown out her arms in time to prevent their lips from touching but it had happened fast so she assumed that she hadn't made it in time but when Kakashi smirked coyly against her lips she realized that he had come forward to purposely close the distance that she had created. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as Kakashi's arms tightened around her waist.

Naruto snapped his fingers in a frustrated manner, "That mask is in the way."

"Too late now." Kori shrugged, "I should've gone for the mask instead of his hand."

Kakashi pulled away slowly, "Well, I guess you missed me."

She lifted her leg and smashed it straight into his shin, "You could've stayed away for a whole year and I wouldn't have missed you!"

"Can we translate for you?" Kai and Shikamaru stood just a few feet away from the two, "She meant to say 'Of course I missed you, don't leave me again'."

Naruto snickered, "Right. More like, 'Let's spend a whole year together.'"

Asahina smashed their heads together in rage, "I meant exactly what I said!"

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets like he didn't have a care in the world, "I'll tell Kotetsu it was an accident, so don't worry about it."

"Speaking of Kotetsu, we need to talk after this!" Asahina suddenly didn't feel safe with Kakashi around his students.

"They're starting." Kakashi ignored the woman's declaration and stepped forward to lean against the rail with his back to her. He already knew what she was going to say. She was probably going to yell at him for telling Kotetsu that she liked him. Maybe she would thank him for telling Kotetsu. He was gone for a whole month, maybe they started dating in his time away from the village or maybe they were already dating and he just hadn't known. His mind snapped back to reality when he felt a pair of warm arms embraced him from behind, "What are you doing?"

Asahina's voice was barely above a whisper, "Welcome back, Kakashi. I missed you."

His hand was holding hers firmly in place and that was enough for him, "I'm home."

"Aww… I told you they were cute together."

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, his hand clamping down much more tightly over hers, "Aya, Yui. You didn't do anything horrible to my apartment, did you?"

Aya giggled, "It's clean, Kakashi."

"Hmm… Kakashi. I heard rumors that you disappeared after sexually assaulting Kori." Yui deadpanned.

"What?" Suddenly, Kakashi didn't want to be so close to Asahina, "Wait. That never happened. Asahina! Hold on!"

The redhead's foot connected squarely with the back of his head. If Yui hadn't dashed forward to grab him, he would've fallen over the rail and into Sasuke's fight.

Asahina grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him off, "Let's go back to the stands now!"

Yui and Aya trailed off behind her at a safe distance.

Kakashi didn't like the feeling of being dragged across the floor of the stands so roughly, "Asahina. I didn't do anything to her. I swear."

"No one wants to know." She snorted, "Sit with us."

"Us?"

"Those guys." She gestured to the row of familiar faces, Gai and Lee were among them, a few steps down, "We saved you a seat."

"Kakashi-san." Izumo glanced up and nodded, "You were late."

"I know." Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, "I could've sworn we were watching the time but it just flew by."

Kotetsu was much less acknowledging of the jonin, "Asahina were the kids happy to see you?"

"Of course!" She plopped down in the seat beside him, "Kakashi, sit down."

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura was getting impatient, "Is that mark still there?"

"It'll be okay." He smiled sitting down before the female jonin could hit him again.

"Sasuke's amazing." Asahina blurted, for lack of better words, "How did he get so fast?"

"Psh. I could do that." Kotetsu smirked.

"Only when you're running away from your work!" Izumo snapped.

She laughed, "I remember we used to cut class all the time."

"Ahh…" Kotetsu casually threw an arm around her shoulder, "Izumo was a goody two shoes and stayed in class though."

"You should take pride in your work." Izumo scolded them.

"If we get the lecture again, I swear, Kotetsu." Asahina didn't really like the idea of hearing Izumo's strict lecture.

"When was the last time we heard the 'Don't cut class' lecture." Kotetsu smirked, "Since we were kids right? I wouldn't mind hearing it again at this point."

"Did you ever cut class, Kakashi-san?" Izumo seemed to be hell bent on finding someone who didn't cut class just like him.

"Kakashi was a goody two shoes too." Asahina grunted, "Obito-kun was more fun."

"I remember. We cut class one time and ended up pushing him into poison ivy. He had a rash on his ass for weeks!" Kotetsu laughed, "And then he shoved it into your face as a prank."

She blushed, "You were the one who shoved it into my face!"

"Was I?" He scratched his chin.

"And I remember you ran around screaming things like 'Obito-kun has a small penis!'" She slapped his thigh.

"He started it!" Kotetsu snorted, "And it was true."

"Kotetsu!" Izumo elbowed his best friend, "What are you saying to a lady?!"

"The truth!" Kotetsu protested, "Obito had a dinky little thing."

"Yours is probably smaller." Asahina snapped.

"Is that your way of saying you want to see it?" Kotetsu teased.

Kakashi's eyebrow was twitching. He was seriously trying to focus on Sasuke's match but it was hard when someone was busy flirting so obviously next to him. Kakashi almost felt like switching seats with her. He didn't like the way Kotetsu had his arm around her or the way he made her smile. If you love someone, you should just be happy that they're happy? It doesn't work that way in real life. Kakashi had concluded that a long time ago.

Sasuke was doing a good job. Kakashi had done his job correctly. Their fight was a spitting image of Lee's fight with Gaara. One crucial fact was that Sasuke had learned his Raikiri. Even though Sasuke renamed it the Chidori, there was no mistaking it. He was proud of his student for learning the Chidori so quickly but the happier emotion came when Asahina threw Kotetsu's arm off and turned her attention to him, "Kakashi! You taught him the Raikiri (Lightning Blade/Cutter)?"

He shrugged coolly, "So?"

Gai snort, "It's not that great!"

Asahina turned and pretended to cry into Kotetsu's shoulder, "He didn't teach it to me but he taught it to Sasuke! That's not fair!"

Her chunin friend patted her back, "There, there. I'll teach you something cool."

"The Raikiri?"

"No."

"Then I don't want to learn it." She turned back around to glare at Kakashi, "You can walk home with Sasuke today then."

"Are you jealous?" He teased, "I think I will walk home with Sasuke today."

Asahina pouted subconsciously, "Kotetsu! Let's walk home together today."

"We walked home together every single day this month." Kotetsu snorted, "One more day can't hurt."

She snorted, "I'll walk by myself then!"

"I was joking." He chuckled, "Are you even watching Sasuke match?"

"I'm not here to watch that loser fight anyway!"

"That's not what you were saying on the way here." He scoffed, "I think you have an honesty problem."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto practically rolled down the stairs to scream at them, "We have to stop the match! That guy is going to kill Sasuke!"

Shikamaru shrugged when Asahina glanced up at him, "He dragged me here."

"Well. We weren't late for nothing." Kakashi grinned, "Just watch."

"AH! Blood! This is my blood!" Gaara's screams had caught the attention of the whole row of ADD morons, who hadn't been paying attention prior to the screaming.

"What happened?" Asahina was out of her seat and leaning over the rail to get a better look.

"Sasuke got him." Kakashi stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"He can't get his hand out!" She pointed at the boy, her eyebrow twitching, "Didn't you teach him how to get his hand out?"

"Another arm!" Sakura glanced down at the ball of hardened sand that was Gaara's protection. Another hand had formed on the sphere of sand to knock Sasuke away before the whole thing came crumbling down to reveal the injured Gaara.

"Oh jeez." Asahina sank back into her seat, "I thought he was done."

"You should have more confidence in my student. He is an Uchi-!"

Kakashi, Gai and Asahina had jumped to their feet and clapped their hands together in a protective seal, "Release!"

"Whew. Just in time." Asahina grumbled as the rest of the audience, shinobi included, slumped forward in a genjutsu induced sleep.

"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi hissed as the section of the stands that had been reserved for the Hokage and Kazekage went up in smoke, "And Orochimaru?!"

The twelve members of the ANBU squad, who were assigned to protect the audience today, were all traitors. Every last one of them was caught red handed with their hands in seals for a widespread genjutsu. Several members of the audience were unaffected but they shed their disguises and leaped into action. Asahina rolled her eyes at the sight of Kotetsu and Izumo, slumped into their seats. Gai was already in battle mode, his hand raised in defensive positions as a disguised shinobi charged straight for him. Asahina slammed her fist into that poor guy's face and charged straight for a group of masked ninja, heading toward the waiting zone where her students were mostly likely to be.

Gai called out to her, "Asahina! Where are you going?"

"To protect my babies!" She growled, probably giving Gai and Kakashi the wrong idea. She could care less. She didn't look back, not even once as she chased the group down to the waiting area but it was already ablaze. The masked arsonists chuckled madly and made their escape. Asahina let out an angry scream, "NO!"

She was too late. The jonin felt her knees give out at the thought of losing her precious students but Kakashi scooped her up, "Asahina! Get a hold of yourself! We can still save them."

"Suiton: Teppodama!" Kori's voice rang out even through the loud crackling noises made by the wild flames. A rather large blast of water paved a path through the flames and each genin managed to get out of the burning room.

Every last one of them was safe. Kori held up her hand in greeting but not before rubbing her brother's back as he coughed. Kai was clutching her arm, coughing up a lung. Shino seemed unharmed but slightly flustered by the sudden blaze.

Kai lifted an eyebrow at the two elite ninjas, "What?! Smoke is bad for you!"

"Kai! Kori!" Asahina whined, throwing her arms around her students, "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Neji! Help!" Kori waved her arms around as her teacher's intense grip attempted to strangle the life out of her.

"Asahina." Kakashi cleared his throat, "We have to go back up. We left Gai all alone."

"You left Gai alone!" Asahina glared but didn't hesitate to run right back to the bushy-browed jonin, much more relieved now that her students were following them, "Dynamic Entry!"

Kakashi sweat dropped as the woman he loved span into the action using Gai's signature entry move, "When did she learn that?"

"You are catching on, love!" Gai gave her a cheesy thumbs up, "Konoha Senpu! (Leaf Hurricane)"

"I'm not doing that one." Asahina's fist connected with another ninja and he fell to the floor, most likely clutching his throbbing jaw.

"Kakashi! Sasuke is chasing after the sand genin! That way!" Gai pointed over the arena walls dramatically.

"Yui! Aya! Get up!" Asahina pushed her chakra into their systems, getting an instant reaction, "Fight!"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Kakashi's dog barked in her ear as soon as it had appeared.

"Asahina! You've grown!" Pakkun was a little pug who dressed himself in a ninja-like fashion.

"Kya!" Sakura screamed.

"She was awake?" Asahina hissed and shoved the genin's head down just in time to save her from the dangers of a shuriken attack.

Kakashi vaulted over several rows at once just to get to them, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah." Sakura stuttered.

"Sakura. This is your first mission in a while. Wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. Take Pakkun and chase after Sasuke. Go!"

"Kori." Asahina called out to her bravely fighting student, "Take Aya and Yui. The village is under attack. Morino Ibiki is guarding the outer ring of the village. Notify him and assist him in protecting the village. If he says he's not in need of help. Find Sasuke! Kori, I'm trusting your judgment. You are leading this group. Hurry!"

"What about me?!" Kai growled.

"Find Toshizo!" Asahina barked, "He was here watching the match with his family! Find him and join our battle!"

The genin scattered at the command of their jonin instructors. Each person carried their own mission and their own feelings.


	21. Things Get Worse BEFORE They Get Better

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.  
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Kori's eyes were focused on the entire village at once as she sought out Ibiki. He wasn't hard to find but the special jonin was quite a distance away. Aya giggled happily at the thought of battle, "I'm going to make it rain blood."

Yui grumbled to herself, "This is how it's done in Konoha. Dully noted."

"Ibiki-san!" Kori skidded to a stop beside the man who was throwing kunai's at the attackers with ease.

"What?" He grunted.

"The arena is under attack as well." She reported dutifully.

"So?"

"We are to provide any assistance you may desire." Yui mumbled, "Do you require assistance?"

"I saw a few brats pass by." Ibiki gestured in some general direction, "Uchiha was the first to pass by here. The fastest person should go after them. The remaining two can stay here."

"The individual who moves at the most vivacious pace would be Kori." Yui seemed to be deciding everything on her own, "We will remain here."

Kori's eyebrow twitched, "Fine."

Yui was well aware that they had taken the more safe position and that's exactly why she spoke up first. If Kori had commanded one of them to go, she would have been commanding them to walk to their deaths. Chasing after Sasuke's group alone was suicide. The village was under attack. Foreign shinobi were everywhere. Who knows when they could strike out at a girl wandering around on her own? Yui's lips straightened into a tight line, catching one last glimpse of the blue haired girl, "This is could very well be the last time we see you but I don't have a propensity for death so..."

Kori snorted, "I'm going."

Kori ran. Gaara was way too strong for Sasuke alone but if Naruto and Sakura were giving chase they would provide a decent support. The girl's eyes were narrowing in on a group of shinobi that were giving chase but she skidded to a stop as soon as her eyes registered a group of shinobi pursuing her. She cracked her neck, "There's no point in catching up if I bring danger with me. Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Rokuro!"

The white tiger stretched out his majestic body, "Master. You are in grave danger."

"There are six of them." Kori snorted, "I'll take four. You take two."

"Absolutely not, Kori-sama. I'll take five. You can have one."

"Selfish." She growled, "Don't be arrogant."

The foreign ninja were upon them in an instant. Kori feet were way ahead of her body, twirling her out of the way when the first ninja lunged for her. Rokuro slammed the ninja to the floor with one powerful swipe.

Kori hissed, "Substitution?!"

Her kunai dug straight into a ninja's neck only to be fooled by another substitution technique. She slammed her palm into the next attacker's jaw only to have him disappear. Rokuro had her back. The tiger roared earning an appropriate reaction from the enemies. Rokuro roared angrily when a kunai sunk into his master's leg. Kori flipped one over her shoulder and he was out. Rokuro had pinned another one down before tearing his eyes out.

She released a rapid attack of shuriken and kunai, scattering her enemy, "Rokuro! Divide and conquer!"

Rokuro roared, "Yes, Master!"

"There are more on the way." She hissed, her arms shaking as she killed a foreign ninja and received a blow to her hip. She drove another kunai between the eyes of an attacker only to have him disappear in a cloud of smoke. How long would she have to fight?

"Hey! There's only one girl!" The lead shinobi barked, "We're to go and retrieve Uchiha Sasuke! Go after him!"

"Rokuro! Don't let them pass!" She commanded.

"Plow right through them!"

"Sasuke's got enough trouble with that Gaara guy. He doesn't need you to stick your nose in his fight!" Kori slammed a kunai into the closest man to her and he dropped dead.

"Enough! Shuriken bunshin!" The lead ninja threw out one shuriken but it ended up doubling over and over until there were thousands coming from every direction.

"Hakkesho Kaiten! (Rotation)" She sank to her knees as several shuriken slipped passed her guard. Her head was pounding indescribably.

"Let's go. Forget her." The ninja scoffed.

Her legs moved automatically, efficiently landing a roundhouse kick straight on the man's neck with so much force that his neck broke and he fell forward, dead. The remaining shinobi charged at her all at once. Her forehead was burning and her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She slit a man's throat without a second look and just barely turned in time to slay another man but not before he stabbed her clean through the shoulder. One by one every ninja fell in front of her. Rokuro had returned with a roar but it was already over. Every opponent was lying either unconscious or dead in front of his master. She was curled up on the floor clutching her head.

Rokuro's nose twitched, "Master. We have to run. There are more."

Kori opened one of her strained eyes to look at her loyal tiger, "Three more."

"They're approaching quickly. We must run."

Her vision began to blur as she reached up to pet him, scanning his bleeding torso and limbs, "If I let them through, Sasuke's as good as dead. He's got his hands full with Gaara but his siblings are all there too. Naruto and Sakura even the odds but those guys are crazy strong. Shikamaru is usually unmotivated and I just met him recently, Naruto and I aren't particularly close but I can't help but like the guy, Sakura and I haven't really been on good terms after she slapped me, and Sasuke is just Sasuke. We have our good times and our bad times but I won't leave them."

"We are only retreating for now, Master. They will understand." Rokuro let out a low growl, "Too late."

Kori staggered to her feet as the next wave of shinobi came. She clapped her hands together, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

The blast of water only managed to scatter her opponents once more. Enraged, the shinobi flung every weapon they had in her direction. She growled, "Hakkesho Kaiten!"

She groaned when a few weapons snuck by her defenses again. The foreign shinobi growled, "Get out of the way and maybe we'll let you live, you useless lump!"

Her eye twitched, "That's right. I'm not talent like Neji or Sasuke but I've got one use. I'm going to stop you here, even if it's the last thing I do!"

Another wave of weapons flew her way and she spun again, "Hakkesho Kaiten!"

She was surprised when a voice mixed with hers and a terribly angry voice echoed for miles in the destroyed area, "I kill you all!"

Her eyes blurred but a new strength welled up inside of her as she whispered, "Neji…"

"Your form is sloppy! Your defense is weak!" The volume of his voice was rising with each word as he landed several blows on the enemy, "Why are you here by yourself?!"

"I was ordered to chase after Sasuke but I ended up deciding to stop these guys instead."

As soon as the enemies were unconscious, Neji spun around and pulled his sister into an uncharacteristically bone crushing hug, "You're an idiot!"

She groaned, "Neji. Pain. Blood!"

"Hn. That's what you get for being weak." He scolded her.

"Kori-sama!" Rokuro growled when the girl slumped into Neji's arms tiredly, "We have to find help."

Neji grunted, lifting his sister carefully, "I should've brought a medic."

* * *

Kai had no trouble finding Toshizo, it was the 'wake him up' part that was difficult. He growled, "Get up, you idiot!"

Toshizo finally stirred after the tenth insult, "Kai-san. What happened?!"

"Shh!" He hissed, "We're getting out of here. Asahina-sensei told us to join the battle an hour ago! You just didn't want to get up."

The meek genin whimpered, "Can we just pretend I didn't wake up? I don't want to fight."

Kai glared down at him, "What. Did. You. Say?"

"Nothing." He squeaked, "Lead the way."

Gai's voice echoed through the arena, "Asahina!"

Toshizo whimpered as their teacher crashed into the wall below their stands. He flinched when Gai followed soon after, "We can't compete with them. Those guys are strong enough to send Asahina-sensei flying!"

"Haven't you been training?!" The blond growled.

"It's not enough to compete with them!"

Kai pushed his teammate out of the stands and onto the ground floor of the arena with a _thud!_ "Hey! Get them!"

Toshizo whimpered as the masked shinobi drew closer, "I didn't bring my sword!"

The two masked shinobi slumped forward, either unconscious or dead. Kai stood behind them dusting his hands like he had just taken out the garbage, "You're a good distraction."

"Gai!" Asahina hissed, "Get off me!"

The male jonin rolled to the side with a groan. Kai and Toshizo dived out of the way as Kakashi came flying by only to crash straight into the other two jonin.

Asahina groaned, "Kakashi, you fatass!"

"They look like a giant human snowball." Kai snorted.

Toshizo rushed over to help them untangle their limbs, "Are you alright, sensei?"

She rubbed her head, "I was okay until Kakashi came flying over here like that!"

Kakashi spared the woman an apologetic grin, "He was a little too fast for me."

"Get up and fight your stalkers!" Asahina barked.

"I've got it." Kai spun around to greet them but froze as a few knifes flew passed his ears from behind with almost deadly accuracy to hit each pursuer between the eyes. The blond spun straight back around with his jaw slack.

"Oh eww…" Toshizo groaned as he checked over his work. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the two he had just killed, "I'm sorry."

"You fucking liar. You trained hard, didn't you?!" The blond punched his arm, "You're not bad."

"Oh. You've just been acknowledged by Kai-kun~" Asahina whistled, "You've improved, Toshi."

The meek boy was red from embarrassment at the sound of so many compliments, "T-Thank you."

"They're coming." Kakashi's sharingan eye was spinning from overuse but luckily another smoke signal went up and every foreign ninja in the area began their retreat.

Gai let out a victorious cry, "Our youth scared them off!"

"The Hokage!" Asahina and Kakashi were already on the move and Gai didn't take much time to catch up and join them on the roof top, where the Hokage and Orochimaru had been fighting.

And there he was, lying there, unmoving. Asahina bit her lip to keep from shedding tears in front of the many jonin that had gather in the arena to fight with them. The air was thick with anger and confusion. How could this have happened? One person began to sob and like a row of dominoes, others began to cry and shed tears for their beloved leader. She shook her head in disbelief. He was the greatest ninja there was. Sure he was old but he just couldn't die.

Kakashi tapped her shoulder lightly and she spun straight into his arms, the tears rolling down her cheeks, "I'm here."

"He's gone." She felt his strong arms around her but she couldn't stop the tears, "Hokage-sama is gone."

"I'm sorry." He grumbled as if he wasn't suffering just as much. His hand moved in soothing circles along her back, allowing her to cry for as long as she needed to. She was shaking in his embrace and mumbling something he couldn't understand into his shoulder, "It'll be alright."

The battle had ended at the cost of the Hokage's life. It wasn't worth it. Asahina cried quietly into Kakashi's shoulder. She would've preferred to fight for an eternity rather than exchange the Hokage's life for an end. She knew better than most that there were lives lost in every battle but it was equally painful every time. She clung to Kakashi tightly suddenly thinking about what she would've done if he was dead too. Kakashi's arms tightened around her until her tears ran dry. She bit her lip and corrected herself, his arms slipping slowly from her body.

Kai and Toshizo stood on the edge of the roof, terrified. Kai growled and smashed his fist into the tiles before running home. The Hokage was supposed to be the most powerful ninja in the village. This Orochimaru guy defeated the Hokage. He took away someone the whole village had looked up to and loved. Orochimaru would pay.

"_Why are you crying child?" The Hokage knelt down in front of the boy._

"_I'm not crying." The much younger Kai sobbed, "I'm a big boy. I don't cry!"_

"_You are only six, dear child." The Hokage gently ruffled his hair, "Now tell me why you're crying. Share your suffering with me."_

_He sniffled, "I want to be the next head of my clan."_

"_That is a wonderful dream." The old man smiled._

"_My father says I can't do it. He says that I'm third in line. My older brother is going to be the head of the clan."_

"_Why do you want to be the head of the clan?"_

"_I want to protect my mommy. She's always sick and can't do a lot of things." Kai sniffled again, "But I'm going to be the head of the clan and protect my mommy and help the village and protect my house!"_

"_Then you can become the head of your clan, Kai." The Hokage just smiled down at him, "You have inherited the Will of Fire. Your feelings are strong. You will be the next head of your clan. I believe in you."_

"I will be the next head of my clan even if I have to marry that witch to do it." He growled, kicking a chunk of rubble out of his way.

* * *

Asahina frowned even while she was walking with Kakashi. He was walking her home and holding her hand but it wasn't enough. She was terrified. The Hokage was gone and Kakashi might be next. When they reached her doorstep, he gestured to the knob, "Your key. Hurry. Your mother is probably worried about you."

Asahina still lived with her mother but she had a reason for it. A very good reason.

"_Stupid, Kakashi!" A thirteen year old, Asahina, sobbed over the Memorial Tablet that now held her father's name._

"_It's not good to cry alone." That voice was just calming._

"_Hokage-sama." She whimpered, drying her tears immediately._

"_It is alright to cry, Asahina." The Hokage grumbled, "You have suffered a great loss."_

_She sobbed again, "I'm a ninja too. I shouldn't show my emotions."_

"_In front of this tablet, shinobi are permitted to cry." The Hokage's voice seemed serious but joking at the same time, "You are only human, my child. You may spill your tears here."_

"_How is my mother, Hokage-sama?"_

"_Her heart is weak with the stress of her loss and her mind is shaken but she will recover. It is unfortunate that she had a heart attack and a stroke. The medics say she will never fully recover but she will survive."_

"_And Kakashi?"_

"_Child, your mother screamed and screamed in her hallucinations about how much she hated him. You saw it yourself. She pounded him over the head with everything she could get her hands on until she collapsed. She mumbles in her sleep even now about how much she disapproves of your friendship."_

"_I know." She grimaced, "But she doesn't have to know that I still see him."_

"_You will probably have to take care of her for the rest of your life." The Hokage told her sternly._

"_I know, sir." She gulped down her tears, "My father would have wanted it that way."_

"_What will you do about Kakashi?"_

"_He's not a heartless guy. I want to hear the story directly from him before I say anything. I want to forgive him if I can. My father would have wanted that too."  
_

"_Will you continue being a ninja?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_Are you not scared of losing your life child? Why are you going to stay on this path?"_

"_I love this village, Hokage-sama. My father loved this village and died fighting for it. I'd like to do the same."_

"_Kazuhiko was a good man." The Hokage nodded, "You have inherited his Will of Fire."_

"_Will of Fire?" She asked._

"_The undying will to protect and love the people in this village and Kazuhiko's forgiving soul." The Hokage smiled, "You would make your father proud."_

_The tears spilled over once more but this time they were tears of happiness, "I would?"_

"_Yes, child." The old man embraced her gently, "You are doing well."_

She would never forget the Third Hokage's kind gestures and words. When she thought that she would never have her father's approval again, the Hokage gave it to her. He had given her the courage to forgive Kakashi and to continue being a ninja but now he was gone. That great man was gone. What if Kakashi left her too? What if he died between now and the next time she planned to see him? What if she never got to confess her feelings?

Kakashi held her hand quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Will you come in?" She asked.

"I…." He shook his head, "I can't, your mother…"

She threw her arms around his neck, "Kakashi, don't die."

His eye squeezed shut, "I wouldn't do that to you."

"You promise?"

"I promise." He grumbled.

"How do I know that you're not lying?"

"I wouldn't lie to you."

She had heard that line before but never in such a serious tone, "You say that all the time."

Kakashi breathed in her scent, it was now or never, "Asahina. I love you. I wouldn't lie to you like that."

"What?" She gasped, not sure she heard him correctly.

"Don't make me say it twice. I hate repeating myself." He could judge her reaction. The way he was holding her kept him from seeing her face.

"I… Kakashi, I…"

"You don't have to answer." He said coolly, "Just push me away if you feel disgusted."

She pushed but didn't let go of her firm grip on his arms. She blushed when she finally locked eyes with the man, "I… I-I d-don't…. I don't dislike you."

His eye widened for only a moment before he chuckled, "Say it for me."

"I-I… Forget it!" She squeaked, turning to unlock the door but ended up fumbling with her key slightly before managing to finally unlock the door.

Kakashi slammed his hand on the door to keep it closed and when she turned her head to look at him, he barely managed to jerk his mask down before slamming his lips into hers. She gasped into the kiss and let out a quiet moan when his tongue slid into her mouth. His other arm grabbed her shoulder and forced her whole body to face him before sliding down far enough for his hand to rest on her hip. She responded slowly but surely. Her arms slid around his neck as she pressed her lips further against his. Her hand ran through his hair and his hand ended up sliding past her hip and onto her lower back and daringly, slightly lower. His first hand slid off the door and into her hair. She moaned again and pulled away when he sucked on her lower lip. He only gave her a second to breathe before reattaching his lips to hers in another passionate kiss. His arms drew her closer and closer until their bodies were pressed together firmly.

She pushed him away, immediately sucking in some much needed air, "I get it! You won't lie to me, blah blah blah."

He chuckled lightly, not even short of breath, "Well?"

"Well?" She mimicked, glaring up at him. She blushed and turned away when she realized that she hadn't seen his bare face in years. Did it always look like that or did he get more attractive?

"Are you still afraid that I'm going to die?" He teased her playfully.

She scowled at him. Why did he have to bring it up again? She had almost forgotten but having been reminded, her fears had returned and she threw her arms around him again.

"Asahina…" He breathed, "Stay with me tonight. I'm not going anywhere."

She blushed, "N-No way!"

"Hmm… Nasty mind." He teased her, "If you're already thinking that way then I might as well do it."

"S-Stop!" She grumbled, tearing herself away from him.

"Stop what?" He teased playfully.

"Everything." She gasped when he scooped her up, "Wh-What are you doing?"

"Taking you to bed." He grinned when her cheeks turned pink, "Hmm… I didn't mean it like that but it's not such a bad idea."

Her face proceeded to heat up again and she yanked his mask back over his face, "Keep that on."

He lifted his eyebrow curiously, "Hmm?"

Her face was getting really hot around the cheek area, "N-No one wants to look at your ugly face!"

He just glanced down and gave her that closed-eyed smile that she loved so much, "You want to monopolize my face."

"Wh-What?!" She yanked his mask right back down, "Freeze your face off!"

His now visible lips curved into an attractive smile, "Oh look, I see people."

"What?!" She pulled his mask right back up.

"It was a joke but now I know what you really wanted." He just kept smiling, "You were my first and only."

"What?" She seemed to be saying that a lot today.

"Love." He whispered, grinning when her face turned red again.

"That's a lie!"

"Don't make me repeat myself. I wouldn't lie to you." He brushed his masked lips across hers once more, "Trust me."

He looked amused when she blushed again, "No one would trust you!"

He practically kicked down the door to his apartment as soon as he got there. Aya and Yui looked up from whatever they were doing.

He let out a low, demanding statement, "Aya. Yui. I'm busy today. Entertain yourselves without disturbing anything."

The two girls exchanged looks, "Understood… We understand."

"N-No. T-This isn't what it looks like!" Asahina wanted to reach up to strangle Kakashi, who had never once put her down, "You guys are misunderstanding!"

"I'll attempt to palliate the sounds with your earplugs." Yui reached across the table to nudge Aya in the proper direction, waving Kakashi's favorite book in his face, "'Your needs are hopefully less exigent than your actions portray.'"

"Oh. You're good enough to quote my favorite scene." Kakashi nodded his approval with a sly grin.

"What actions?" Asahina squirmed to get out of his deadly tight grip just as Aya returned with a few sets of earplugs and earmuffs, "I hate that book! GAH!"

"We are completely prepared." Yui shoved the earplugs in first and then slid the earmuffs on over them.

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head before sliding into his bedroom and slamming the door with his foot. He leaned onto his bed holding the beautiful jonin in his lap, "I was joking, Asahina."

"Speaking of jokes!" She suddenly remembered that she wanted to discuss something with him, "Why did you tell Kotetsu you liked someone with the initials H.K?"

Kakashi looked genuinely confused for the first time in a long time, "I didn't tell him that…"

"Then you told him I liked someone with those initials?" She blushed lightly, thinking he had known the whole time.

"Oh that." Kakashi grinned, "It seems I was wrong about that."

Her eyebrow twitched, was he trying to get her to bluntly tell him about her feelings, "Are you stupid?"

Kakashi's face returned to that naturally aloof look, "I heard it from your student."

Asahina rolled her eyes, "Kori told you?"

"She didn't say his name directly. She only gave me his initials." Kakashi almost thought he had gotten the girl in trouble.

"Why are you talking about yourself in third person?"

"I'm talking about Hagane Kotetsu." As soon as the words left his mouth, his jaw went slack, "Oh."

She couldn't hold back her laughter at the look of realization on his face, "Oh jeez."

His face twisted into a scowl as he watched her laugh, "Ha. Ha. Very funny."

She rubbed his shoulder apologetically, "She practically gave me away and you thought I liked Kotetsu… That's hilarious."

Kakashi suddenly looked exhausted as he leaned back to lie on the bed with a groan. He watched as she rolled off his lap with a kind smile. He lazily threw off his flak jacket and forehead protector before getting under the covers of his bed, completely ignoring her amused look. He was vaguely aware of the look she was giving his backside. He turned to face her with a teasing glare before pulling the covers aside in an inviting gesture. He saw her blush again before slowly joining him but he made no move to touch her.

She glanced up to see him staring down at her in an almost demanding way. She averted her eyes but couldn't keep them off of him for long, his heated gaze just continued to bore into her eyes until she grumbled the one thing he wanted to hear, "I love you."

Asahina felt his strong arms wrap around her body and suddenly felt dirty. Literally, dirty. She was still wearing her bloody flak jacket and hadn't taken a shower since the previous night. As if he could see her worries, he whispered, "You're beautiful."

Her eyes slid shut under the warmth of his body. His slow, steady breathing made her certain that he was falling asleep. She could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart against her hand and she breathed out, "Good night, Kakashi…"

* * *

**Well, that's the end of my every day upload. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. It's motivating to know that people actually read and enjoy my story. Sooo... If I decide to continue and write the Shippuden part should it be as a sequel or just added on to make this story like a bajillion chapters? O_O I'm probably a while away from finishing the first part but I'd like your suggestions. Please and thank you.**


	22. Funeral and BBQ

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Two days had passed since the death of the Hokage and every ninja in the village was gathered in front of the memorial that day. A row of tables held the pictures of the beloved shinobi who lost their lives that day and the Hokage's was directly in the middle. Each person had their own memories with the old man but they were only kind memories. Every shinobi here knew how kind the old man had been, having experienced it firsthand. Kori was there, supported by her brother who insisted aggressively that her leg was broken when it was only stitched up and bandage from her fight a few days ago. So Kori stood awkwardly with Neji's teammates that day but Tenten didn't seem to feel up to bullying her today.

One by one each ninja presented their white rose to the Hokage's picture. There was not a single person that didn't mourn the loss of their leader. Even the heavens seemed to be crying for the man. Rain poured over the crowd, effectively drenching them. The clouds were as dark and black as their mourning clothes. Every shinobi was dressed fully in black. Kori had opted out of the female short black dress to dress in her completely black yukata. She tilted her head toward the sky. It was unfair, she thought, if the gods were going to shed tears over his death then they should've spared him instead. She usually liked the rain but today she wished it wasn't raining. The gods had played their hand and given them an unfair result. She didn't really believe in god but for today she would pray to the gods that the Third Hokage would be happy in the afterlife.

Toshizo held his hands together in prayer for the man he had respected. He usually disliked the rain but today it seemed so appropriate. The rain fit the funeral mood and his mood. There wasn't a single person in the area who could say they were happy he died. Even the normally uncaring Kai was angrily glaring up at the sky as if someone had been stolen from him. He glanced over at his teammate as the last of the shinobi placed their flowers in front of the picture. It was over. The funeral was over but several people lingered to say their final goodbyes to the fallen heroes of the battle.

Yui couldn't understand how the Hokage was so loved. She had once been a shinobi of the Hidden Mist and was probably in their bingo book now. The Mizukage was said to be cruel and intimidating but it almost seemed that this man was just the opposite. The rain had finally let up to allow rays of sun to shine down on the Hokage's picture. Even though the funeral was over, many shinobi were lingering and continuing their prayers. She had never realized a ninja could mourn so much. In Kirigakure, emotions were strictly forbidden but here it was different.

Yui approached the girl she had been meaning to talk to from the very start, her whole reason for attending the funeral, "Hyuga Kori. Allow me some of your time."

The blue haired girl turned with a confused look on her face, "What could you possibly want from me?"

"Are we not on the same team?" Yui said, "I have some business with you."

"Neji." The Hyuga waved her brother away, "You can go home first."

Yui had been emotionally damaged since the loss of her brother, Zabuza. She had trouble recognizing any feelings within herself but today, she realized that her chest was in pain, "I'd like to apologize for sending you to your death the other day. It was indescribably selfish of me."

Kori broke into a smile like Yui had just told a joke, "That's it? It's fine. I survived didn't I?"

"You could have been one of the pictures." Yui glanced over to the tables, "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Hmm… Can I ask a favor?" Kori waved away the girl's apology.

"If you can forgive me."

"Deal." Kori was still smiling, "I have a friend here. He's been dying to meet you. If you're free, could you spend some time with us?"

"If you insist."

"You know, did you always talk like that?" Kori asked, "If I'm not wrong, when we fought you on the bridge you talked like a normal person."

"Am I permitted to speak normally to the people of the village?"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"In Kirigakure, it's forbidden to speak to your higher ups in a disrespectful tone."

Kori sweat dropped, "It's like that here too but the way you talk is robotic."

"Are you presenting me with permission to speak normally?"

"Uhh… Sure."

"Thanks." Yui grumbled.

"Kiba!" Kori waved at her longtime friend, "I brought her."

Kiba had a light pink hue over his cheeks just at the sight of her. He stepped forward to greet them, "Momochi Yui, right?"

"Ah… Yes…." She was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to call him.

"Inuzuka Kiba." Kori filled in the blank, jabbing her elbow into Kiba's side.

"Is it okay if I call you, Yui-chan?" Kiba presented the girl with a wolfish grin.

The silver haired girl nodded, "Could I call you…?"

"Kiba-kun." Kori whispered.

"Kiba-kun?" The girl repeated his name dutifully.

Kori sweat dropped. He seemed to be enjoying that one way too much. Kiba had always glared and grumbled about how popular Sasuke was and how the girls would squeal 'Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!' as he walked by. What a hypocrite! To the untrained eye it would seem like nothing had changed but suddenly Kiba's ego was bigger than him.

Kiba grinned widely, "Do you like dogs, Yui-chan?"

"I don't dislike them." Yui admitted.

Akamaru barked quietly, alerting the girl to his presence. Kiba pulled the dog from the front of his shirt where he had been hiding the whole time, "This is Akamaru!"

"Hello." Yui didn't make any moves but Kiba held him out to her in encouragement. Yui's hand rolled over the dog's head and Akamaru barked happily.

Kiba grinned that wolfish grin of his, "We were going to eat with a few others, care to join us Yui-chan?"

"I don't mind the idea." Yui was still amusing herself with Akamaru's ears.

"Oh boy." Kori rolled her eyes, "Have fun. I'll go get Hinata-sama."

"Hey! Invite the rest of your team!" Kiba waved her off.

She muttered under her breath, "I'll take my time too."

"Kori-san." Toshizo greeted her, "How are you feeling?"

"I wasn't actually discharged from the hospital but I was given permission to attend the funeral." She admitted, "But I'm not going back there. Ever."

Kai snorted, "Then get stronger."

The Hyuga just glared at him, "Toshizo. Kiba and I are going to eat yakiniku today, want to join us?"

"Eh? Can I?" He asked, politely.

"Sure." She shrugged, "If you have time."

"I have plenty of time today."

The two turned to leave but Kori shot another glare over her shoulder, "You're invited too."

The silvery blonde just grunted, "I don't have time to be wasting on-!"

His two teammates just stared at their usually misogynic male teammate as a girl hopped straight onto his back and proceeded to whine for a piggyback.

She pouted, "Kai-kun~ Let's join them."

Kai growled, "Get off!"

"Why?" She whined.

He lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the other two, "They don't know yet. And what's wrong with your personality?! Are you bipolar?"

"No…" She giggled, cutely, "I'm practicing my acting."

"Do it somewhere else!" He barked.

"Saizo." Kori's voice sounded almost teasing, "If you're busy we'll leave without you."

"Kori-san." He heard Toshizo scold her without any hint of seriousness.

"I'll go." Kai finally managed to shrug the girl off his shoulders and glare at her, "You weren't invited."

"Ehhh~" She feigned hurt, "Please?"

"It can't hurt." Kori grinned almost too teasingly, "Bring her along, Saizo."

Toshizo scratched his chin, "Where have I seen that girl before?"

"She's no one important!" Kai snapped, "Just walk."

"Fujikaze Yukie?! The movie star?!" Toshizo screamed.

"Hehe… That's me." The girl seemed to be very cheerleader-like.

Kai growled, "You're acting like a flirt."

"Don't be jealous, Kai-kun~ I only have eyes for you." Koyuki shot the boy a flirtatious wink.

He let his eyes trail over to Kori before tearing them away, "Yeah, right."

"Hinata-sama!" Kori spotted the shy girl only a few feet ahead, "You're joining us right?"

"Y-Yes." She stuttered, "B-But…."

Kori watched as her cousin glanced over in Naruto's direction, "You can invite him too I guess. The more the merrier."

"N-No… I-I-I c-c-couldn't." She squeaked.

"I could." Kori walked straight over and jabbed Sasuke in the back, "Hey, Number One-san. Are you free today?"

Sakura shot her a deadly glare, "Who wants to know?!"

Kori shivered, "Uhh… Me?"

Sasuke grunted, "Hn. It depends on what you're asking."

"Hey! What about me?!" Naruto screamed, "Why does everyone only talk to Sasuke?!"

The blue haired girl scratched her ear awkwardly, "Cause you're always screaming when I talk to you. Sasuke, we're going to eat so I wanted to know if you wanted to come. Naruto's invited too but by Hinata-sama, be grateful."

Sakura shook her fist at the girl, "You're stealing MY Sasuke-kun?!"

Kori scooted closer to Sasuke to hiss, "Invite her and save me."

Sasuke shrugged coolly, "I'll go."

"I didn't think s-…. What? You're coming?" Kori couldn't believe he actually wanted to come, "I guess there's a first for everything."

"Hey! I heard you're eating yakiniku!" Choji's ears were surprisingly sharp when it came to food.

"What a drag." Shikamaru yawned on his way over to them.

Ino and Sakura shared a few nasty insults and then much quieter whispers. It only took two seconds for Ino to scream, "YOU! Hyuga Kori! You're trying to seduce my Sasuke, aren't you?!"

"N-No…" She sweat dropped, "I don't think I want to do that…."

"Meat!" Choji roared in the poor girl's ear.

* * *

Kiba howled with laughter as every one of the genin teams became situated around several large barbeque tables in the restaurant, Yakiniku Q – the most famous barbeque house in Konoha. "So you ended up inviting them all?"

Kori nodded her head meekly, "They invited themselves if you think about it that way."

Ino thrust her chopsticks forward, "We couldn't let you monopolize Sasuke-kun!"

Kori glanced over at the Uchiha as he proceeded to engage in an eating contest of some sorts with Naruto and Kai. Sakura was screaming for Naruto to stop eating like a pig but the real pig was Choji, who sat wordlessly at the end of the table eating everything in front of him.

Shikamaru lazily turned over another strip of meat for the bottomless pits, "How troublesome."

Neji's team -minus Lee who was still in the hospital- sat at the quieter table with Hinata and Shino. Yui fidgeted uncomfortably and felt that she should have sat with the more quiet members of the group but Kiba had practically forced her to sit next to him. Toshizo was busily laughing and eating at the same time. Yukie sat giggling next to Kai while sipping her tea in a much more refined manner than they were eating.

Their group only continued to grow, "What's this?"

Squad Nine glanced up to see their teacher standing over their table with the rest of the jonin teachers. Gai screamed something about youth and slid into the seat next to Neji. The other instructors sat at a separate table with much less energy, actually befitting someone who had just been at a funeral. Yui couldn't help but notice how much closer Kakashi and Asahina had gotten over the course of just two days. Despite her promise not to disturb them she had peeked in and immediately realized that they weren't even doing anything that could be disturbed. The ex-mist ninja thought he had been hinting at a very mature activity but she had guessed wrong.

She smiled as she watched the two associate with each other. Across from them were Kurenai and Asuma who looked equally busy associating with each other. Yui blinked a few times as her table grew silent and her attention slipped back to her acquaintances as they stared at her with a look that was hard to pick out. Naruto looked like a complete idiot with a strip of partially cooked meat dangling out of his open mouth. Sasuke gulped down his food to give the girl his usual look. Kai's chopsticks were still in his mouth as his face turned slightly pink. Kiba's jaw was slack and his eyes were wide with an emotion she couldn't really put her finger on. Sakura and Ino had stopped their bickering to stare dumbly at the girl. Even Choji had momentarily stopped shoveling food into his mouth before resuming his activities. Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow in acknowledgement before turning over the next strip of meat. Toshizo and Kori both had slight smiles on their faces. Yukie just stared indifferently at the girl.

Yui cleared her throat, "Did I do something wrong?"

It was almost as if the hands of time began to move again and most of them just went back to doing whatever they were doing before, eating or talking.

Kori's lips twitched upward at the people who just ignored her question, "They meant to say that you look like a goddess when you smile."

Yui's naturally stoic face usually didn't change unless she went into battle but she had to admit that the sudden compliment embarrassed her, "The probability of knowing what I look like when I smile is almost zero percent. If you're trying to brusquely blandish me into doing you another favor, it's futile."

"Brusquely? Blandish?" Naruto managed to grumble through bites of meat.

"She said 'If you're trying to butter me up so that I'll do you another favor, it's not going to work.'" Kori snorted, "I wasn't. I thought you were going to talk normally."

Naruto grunted to show that he understood and proceeded to snatch a slab of meat from Kai's plate while Sasuke stole one from his and Kai stole one from Sasuke. Choji screamed for another plate and Shikamaru yawned and turned another slab of meat, "What a drag."

Yui was beginning to understand. Naruto was the idiot that everyone seemed to make fun of, the attention-seeker, the moron in last place who declared that he would beat everyone. Hinata was the quiet girl with a secret not-so-secret secret crush on Naruto who, unfortunately for her, liked Sakura. Sakura and Ino were the rabid Sasuke fans who bickered about everything. Sasuke seemed disinterested in anything not related to survival and competition. Kai was the strange gynophobe, or maybe he was just gay. If Yukie was really who she said she was, an actress, then what was she doing here? Toshizo was the meek one who seemed to be the most normal out of their entire group. Shikamaru was the lazy one of the group, who seemed to do everything after he complained about it. Choji was a human vacuum when it came to food. Kori was hard to figure out so Yui decided not to think about her. Kiba seemed to enjoy Akamaru's company more than anything and had a strange personality between straight-forward and arrogant.

The next table was more or less a mystery with the exception of Hinata, who Yui determined was an obvious character. Tenten seemed to have some feelings for both Kai and Neji. Neji was a mysterious character that she didn't really have time to get to know. Shino was equally shady, both literally and metaphorically. Gai seemed to be a crazy energetic jonin while Kakashi was his polar opposite. Asuma seemed to be a mix between the laid-back and cool Kakashi and the lazy Shikamaru, the only bad thing seemed to be the fact that he smoked. Kurenai was a beautiful woman but Yui noted that Asahina had a more interesting character.

"Oi!"

Yui's eyes snapped back to an impatient Kiba, "What?"

"What do you think of us?" He grinned, "You were looking around pretty seriously, is there anyone you're interested in?"

"Interested in?" She repeated.

Kori rolled her eyes and added, "In a possibly romantic way."

"Oh." Yui's mouth opened in an 'O' shape that would usually be unattractive but Yui made everything look natural. She scanned the group again, "Just based on appearance?"

Kori shrugged, "Why not?"

Yui lifted a finger and pointed straight as Sasuke, who almost uncharacteristically swallowed a whole clomp of meat without chewing, "Just on looks."

Kori winced as Kiba's face fell, "Well, that's Uchiha Sasuke for you. Such a popular guy."

"Hmm…" Kakashi towered over their table with an eye-smile, "We'll be leaving first so you can walk her home today Sasuke."

"Kakashi!" Sasuke hissed.

"I won't hear any excuses." Kakashi tossed a wave over his shoulder and slipped out of the restaurant with the rest of the jonin.

"Youth." Gai nodded in approval as he leapt out through the door after Kakashi.

Sasuke and Yui locked eyes. The ex-mist ninja spoke up first, "It's fine. He was kidding."

Sasuke nonchalantly took a sip of his tea, "I'll take you. Tell me when you're ready to leave."

Kori sweat dropped at the suddenly murderous mood of both Ino and Sakura, "This is just great."

Sasuke and Naruto were done. There was no one but Choji to out-eat Saizo Kai.

He smirked, chewing casually on another chunk of meat, "Done already?"

"He's a bottomless pit!" Naruto whined, "That's crazy!"

"Kya~ That's my Kai-kun." Yukie threw her arms around the boy's neck, effectively earning a glare from Tenten at the other table.

Kai pried the girl off and stood abruptly, "Stop."

"Okay!" Kori stood, "If we're done, let's head home."

Neji glanced over at his sister indifferently, "Stand slowly. Can't you follow a doctor's directions?"

Her eyebrow twitched, "Time. To. Go. Home."

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura whined, "Walk me home."

"No me!" Ino cut in.

And they engaged in another round of bickering over Sasuke. He didn't seem to even care as he handed over a chunk of money to pay his share of the food. With the bill taken care of, the genin went off in their separate directions. Yui and Sasuke began their awkwardly silent trek to Kakashi's apartment. Sasuke didn't seem bothered by the silence but Yui disliked the feeling of sudden silence after a noisy gathering. She took quick glances at him. She had chosen him because he was a fairly good-looking individual but his personality seemed hard to deal with.

He spared her one sideways look, "What? No one ever walked you home before?"

Her expression remained unchanged, "It wasn't quite like this."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted before admitting, "This is my first time walking someone home. Don't expect me to do it again."

"I won't." She hadn't expected him to obey Kakashi in the first place.

The two slipped into a more comfortable silence until they reached Kakashi's door where Yui held up her hand in an awkward wave, "Thank you…."

"Uchiha Sasuke." He grunted.

"I know your name…. What should I address you as?"

His nose crunched slightly, "Yui, determine that on your own."

"Then… Sasuke?" She murmured.

He smirked almost arrogantly at the sound of his own name without a suffix, "Sure."

"Then… Thank you, Sasuke." She tried.

He turned and coolly tossed a farewell over his shoulder, "Yeah. See you around."

She slid into the apartment after watching his retreating back for as long as she could see him. Aya immediately tumbled into her friend, "Yui! You and Kakashi left me to go eat?"

"Quite frankly… Yes?" She admitted, not forgetting the charming image of the half-smirk that Sasuke had left in her mind. Aya whined and complained and the day grew long but Yui only thought of Sasuke until the moment she fell asleep.

* * *

**So sorry. It's been a while. I was trying to plan ahead but I realized that it's too hard to plan ahead. But I was thinking, i****f I decide to continue and write the Shippuden part should it be as a sequel or just added on to make this story like a bajillion chapters? O_O I'm probably a while away from finishing the first part but I'd like your suggestions. Please and thank you.**


	23. Rebuilding the Village

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Asahina sighed for probably the tenth time that hour. Kakashi held an armful of mission scrolls. They were on the way to the elders at the mission desk with another pile of D-ranked missions. The elders were desperately searching for the next Hokage and were currently badgering Jiraiya, one of the three legendary shinobi of Konoha, to be the next Hokage. The village was slowly being rebuilt and wounds were being healed but they had officially gone two days without a Hokage and on day three, the presence of a great leader was desperately missed.

Every ninja was busily completing missions to support the declining village budget. The elders were getting grumpy, with all the chunin out on missions, they had to take over and help out at the desk. They jerked the scrolls out of the hands of the unsuspecting jonin and turned to Kakashi, who was more prepared for the angry snatching. The two made sure to bow politely before leaving to get more scrolls.

Kakashi managed to sneakily steal a kiss from the woman before lazily continuing down the hallway like he hadn't just done it. She managed to fight down her blush and catch up. The two jonin passed by Kotetsu and Izumo, who barely managed to greet them from behind their stack of books, to grab more scrolls and head back to the desk. Asahina saw her student's there.

Toshizo greeted her respectfully, "Asahina-sensei."

"Hey. Kori! You're looking well." Asahina glanced down at the girl's slightly less bandaged legs.

She smiled, "I'm better than ever."

"Are you guys going on a mission on your own?" Kakashi asked.

"No." One of the elders snapped, "Here. Take this and help out with rebuilding!"

Kai managed to steady the girl as an elder forced a scroll into her hands, "Are you sure you can do manual labor?"

Kori snorted, "Asahina-sensei. We're going now."

"Where are Yui and Aya?" Asahina managed to ask.

"Aya and Yui already went to help rebuild this morning." Kakashi answered.

The three genin slipped out the door as the elders began to snatch scrolls from Kakashi and Asahina without any kind words.

Toshizo sighed, "I don't believe we have to help rebuild."

"It can't be that bad." Kori offered him small comfort.

Kai grunted, "Try saying that after you see my house. It's in the worst shape possible. It's still being rebuilt."

Kori handed a worker the scrolls and he quickly scanned it over before returning it to her and barking out his orders, "You're supposed to transport materials from the storehouse to the workers! Hurry it up!"

They sighed before spinning around to see Yui and Aya holding tools for the sweaty construction workers. It seems Team 7 was there as well. Sasuke was only a little ways away, hammering a board onto the rooftops while Sakura passed him a nail every time. Naruto was busily painting the already repaired walls. The storehouse was only a small distance away but the way back was terrifying.

Toshizo groaned under the weight of the wooden boards, "This is too much."

Kai held an equally crazy amount but complained much less, "Shut up. It's not that bad."

Kori grinned apologetically as she held the bag of nails, screws and other small materials, "Do you want to trade?"

"Shut it, broken legs." Kai snapped, handing a plank to each of the workers on the rooftops that reached down and asked for one.

Yui now empty handedly sat on the rooftop with Sasuke, watching him hammer away. The oldest construction worker thrust a hammer into Kai's hand just as he finished handing out the boards and told him to get up on the roofs and work with the rest of the shinobi. A can of paint was thrown into Kori's hand and Toshizo was forced to march back to the storehouse mumbling his complaints.

Naruto grinned goofily as she knelt down to help him with the paint, "Are you all better now?"

"Sure." She shrugged.

"Look at Sasuke, that guy." Naruto glared up at the boy on the rooftop only a few feet away, "Flirting with Sakura-chan and Yui-chan. Disgusting!"

Kori glanced over while applying another coat of paint, "That's flirting?"

Sasuke wasn't doing anything more than taking nails from Sakura and hammering them in while just barely telling Yui to hold the boards steady for him.

Naruto's lower lip stuck out, "That's not fair!"

"Paint, Naruto. Paint." She sighed, moving on to paint the next section.

Yui gripped the boards steadily as Sasuke's swift and steady hammering slammed the nails into place. Sakura handed him another nail, "Here, Sasuke-kun."

He grunted and slammed another nail into place. Sakura handed him another nail, "Here, Sasuke-kun."

"Here, Sasuke-kun. Here, Sasuke-kun. Here, Sasuke-kun."

He glared down at her, "You don't have to say that every time."

She smiled happily at the sound of his voice, "Sorry. Here, Sasuke-kun."

He scowled as he slammed another nail into place and sliding over to nail the next board in place. An older worker snatched the box from Sakura's hands and tossed it up next to them, "You! Go get some more supplies from the shed."

"Again?" She whined, moving sluggishly toward the storehouse.

Sasuke scooted further to attach the next board and then the next. Yui glanced up and noticed the sheen of sweat that was starting to cover his face and arms. He wiped at it with his arm warmers but he just continued to sweat. She subconsciously reached over and wiped the sweat away with her own sleeves. He reeled back as if someone had just burned him but when she didn't make any more sudden movements Sasuke leaned back in to allow her to wipe his sweat. She had just moved on instinct. She often wiped her brother's sweat with towels when he was injured or when he was done training and couldn't move.

More gently than he thought he could manage, Sasuke lowered her hands to the board between them. Was this what one could call motherly love? He hadn't forgotten his mother but it's been a long time since someone wiped his sweat when he was sick and had a fever or at all for that matter. Whatever it was, it made his heart ache. He slammed a few more nails into place and moved onto the next board and then the next. He jumped to the next broken rooftop with the rest of his materials to repair that too. He flinched when Yui reached across again to wipe his sweat. His sweat was probably making her sleeves feel disgusting but he wanted her to keep doing it.

Yui admired how hard he worked. Sasuke moved quickly and firmly hammered each board into place perfectly. He worked silently except for the occasional grunt of effort. When she asked if he wanted to switch roles, he shook his head as if the thought was preposterous and continued to work. They worked until the sun was beginning to set. He slid off the rooftop, not bothering to look back at her.

Naruto's voice surprised the both of them, "Incoming!"

Yui turned slightly to see Naruto's can of paint flying toward her. Her expression remained unchanged as she turned to step aside. Somehow, the panel on the not-yet-finished roof came loose and she gasped lightly as she fell back. Her eyes squeezed shut as a reflex when she realized that she couldn't catch her balance. The feeling of the hard ground never came and a familiar voice breathed, "How long are you going to keep your eyes closed?"

Yui cracked one eye open and then the other to find herself in Sasuke's arms, "Ohh…"

"Moron." He grunted.

He hastily set her on her feet as Naruto scrambled over, "Sorry, Yui-chan! I didn't mean to throw it your way! I was just trying to paint things faster and Kori said I should just splatter it on everything so I don't have to paint it!"

Kori approached them with a fairly amused look on her face, "I was joking but it looks like something good happened so I'll pretend I was serious."

"Yui!" Aya nearly tackled the girl to the ground, "Let's go home."

"Kakashi and Asahina-sensei, told us to buy groceries on the way back." Yui reminded her, "We have to buy food first."

"I'm going to eat RAMEN!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs and ran without turning back once.

"Let's go home." Kai growled, stomping by and grabbing his teammate by the wrist and dragging her halfway down the street.

Toshizo apologized and hurried after them.

Sasuke scratched his cheek almost successfully feigning nonchalance, "I'll help you guys out."

"Eh?" Aya turned to face him, "What?"

"He said he'll come with us." Yui turned the girl and gave her a starting push, "Hurry."

* * *

Kai stood awkwardly behind the window like a stalker as his two teammates looked over the sweets sold at the Amaguriama. What was awkward about that? Well, the fact that he found Kori's childish features cute could be the reason why or it could be the fact that he suddenly felt that Toshizo was competition. Kori liked sweets and Toshi was nice to everyone and Kai knew it from the start but suddenly, the meek boy's kindness seemed to him like competition. Why had his male teammate asked her to come here? Why did he say he would buy her sweets? What were they talking about as they looked at those sweets?

Toshizo, on the other hand, didn't see the problem. They had walked back to a fairly sturdy part of town and he had invited a friend to help him pick out sweets for his mother and one other.

"So let me get this straight." Kori said, "You saw some random girl when we were helping out with the construction."

The boy nodded.

"Some ninja girl you don't even know the name of just happened to greet you and you can't stop thinking about her so you want to buy her food so you dragged me over here without Saizo so I could help you pick."

"I want to keep it a secret from Kai-san. He's going to make fun of me for sure!"

"I'd say you're going about it all wrong. You're not supposed to just randomly buy her stuff. What if she's weird? You're supposed to get to know her first." The Hyuga couldn't take her eyes off the mochi in the display.

"But I don't even know her name. How do I find her again?"

"I've got just the person for you to see." Kori grinned and grabbed him by the arm, "Kiba knows all the girls around. If you describe her, he could probably find her by scent."

And that's exactly what happened from that point on. Toshizo described the girl with as many words as he knew but Kiba just shook his head and claimed that he didn't know anyone like that.

"You're doing it wrong, Toshizo. You have to describe her." His teammate said.

"Isn't that was I just did?" He asked.

"No. In Kiba's world, you can only describe a person by the way they smell."

"HEY! Don't turn me into a freak." Kiba snapped, "I can describe people by the way they look too!"

"Only when he's looking directly at them." Kori rolled her eyes, "It's a creepy thing to ask but you wouldn't happen to know what she smells like, do you?"

"Coffee." Toshizo felt his face heat up as soon as the description left his mouth, "Ah… She walked by and it kind of just wafted off her."

"Coffee… A ninja?" Kiba exchanged looks with his best friend, "The daughter of the man who runs the café?"

"Now that you mention it…. She's that cute girl who runs around calling us senpai, right?" She mused, "She graduated from the Academy already?"

"Yeah! That plain girl… Uhh… What was her name again…? Mmnnn…." Kiba scratched his chin in thought.

"Hoshina… Hatori Hoshina."

"Yeah! Her!" Kiba nodded as if he knew it all along, "But she's not a good match for you, Toshizo. She's really plain, not particularly outgoing, not smart, her looks are kind of boring, and she's seriously shy…"

The Inuzuka paused and glanced at his best friend quizzically and she seemed to take the words right out of his mind, "You guys are exactly alike. She's perfect for you."

"Now that I think about it… That's completely right." Kiba agreed, "But she's got a problem. She's probably as shy as Hinata. You're not going to get anything out of her."

"She used to have a crush on this guy." Kori threw an arm around her best friend's neck.

"Ahh…" Toshizo nodded, "And now?"

"She still has a crush on this guy." Kiba smirked, pointing at himself, "I'm hard to get over."

"No you're not." Kori rolled her eyes, "He was joking. She was over him the minute she met Saizo. She finally gathered up the courage and confessed to Saizo last year but cried after being rejected…"

The dog lover snorted, "Well… You've got it hard, Toshi. I was joking when I said I'm hard to get over but Kai is definitely hard to get over so… Your competition is on your team."

"Ugh…" His nose crinkled, "Can't I just wait it out?"

"How long are you going to wait? Until Kai gets old and ugly?" Kiba just shook his head, "I think Kai's going to be good looking until he's married and has kids and even then, he'll probably be better looking than us. You'll have to wait till he dies!"

"You know what I noticed? Girls usually like guys who don't like anyone or like someone else…" Kori said, "Like Sasuke or Saizo or Neji or Naruto…"

"There's only one girl who likes Naruto." Kiba slapped her arm.

"So what should I do?" Toshi brought their attention back to his problem.

"Wait for her to come to you?" They told him, "If you chase after her like Naruto chases after Sakura… Well… She'll probably react like Sakura does to Naruto."

* * *

The strange group didn't take long in the grocery store. Yui handed over a fair sum of money in exchange for their supplies. Sasuke held two brown paper bags full of their groceries steadily in one arm. Yui reached out for them but he pulled them away from her, "Just walk."

Yui felt the need to protest but Aya pulled them both forward, "Home! Home!"

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow when he saw Sasuke at the door, "Hmm… What's he doing here?"

Asahina accepted the bags from the Uchiha's arms, "Are you staying Sasuke?"

He snorted indifferently but his shoulders lost their arrogant touch when he caught Yui looking at him oddly, "I… I guess I'll stick around."

"Oh great." Kakashi grinned glancing warily back and forth between the stoic Yui and the usually indifferent Sasuke, "Asahina, he's staying."

The jonin giggled from the kitchen, "Okay!"

"Kakashi!" Aya squealed, "Can I play with your mask again?"

Kakashi's old ANBU mask had become her newest object of interest. He shrugged, "Just make sure to put it back."

Kakashi felt slightly uncomfortable when he turned back around to find Sasuke and Yui sitting on the couch together. He was holding her old Kirigakure forehead protector and she was saying something about the only difference being the symbol. He waddled into the kitchen awkwardly and closed to the door quietly. The thought that he felt uncomfortable in his own house was ridiculous but true. Asahina was giving him a strange look but he just shrugged it off.

She laughed, "Are you uncomfortable around their strange form of PDA?"

He dragged a chair out from under the kitchen table and sat comfortably while nodding slowly, "That wasn't even PDA. It's… creepy."

Asahina was just giving him that look but she didn't say anything.

He chuckled awkwardly, "Are you trying to say that it's creepy no matter who does it?"

She snorted but didn't say a word as she continued to stir whatever was in that bowl of hers. He quietly put his book on the table as she turned around to finish whatever she was doing. He liked the idea of doing this for the rest of his life. Asahina cooking for him while he sat at the table reading peacefully sounded like the best thing that could happen to him. He sighed. She had technically only spent one day at his house and then gone home to take care of her mother. Kakashi almost thought that she would ignore him for the rest of his life after he walked her home. Asahina had closed the door and received the longest, loudest lecture he had ever heard. She was a jonin, she probably knew he had crouched underneath her open window and spent the next hour or so eavesdropping on their conversation about moral issues and Kakashi's own lack of morals. She hadn't brought it up and two days had already passed since then. He didn't really know what to think.

He sighed and leaned back comfortably when her arms wrapped around him from behind, her chin resting on his head, "Hmm?"

"Read to me." She hummed.

He turned the page over, "I'd rather not."

The warmth left him as she moved back to finish whatever she was doing. His nose twitched at the smell of the food she placed on the tables in front of him. She smiled, "You're not going to eat now that Sasuke's here… I'll make you more when he leaves. Or you could just go eat all by yourself in loner land? Your choice."

Kakashi turned the page, "Hmm… That's such a hard choice. Have the love of your life cook especially for you at a later time or eat in the confinements of my lonely room. What should I choose to do?"

Aya ran in just by the smell of the food, "Yay! Yui! Yui! Yui! Hurry! There's good food today!"

Kakashi sweat dropped, "Good food? My cooking's not good enough for you?"

Yui held the door open, Sasuke stood behind her with an oddly arrogant look on his face, "The fact that your food smells awkward and tastes like a strange form of expired materials doesn't help your cause."

"That's rude." He grumbled, "I don't use expired ingredients like Naruto."

"Whatever." Asahina waved him away and gestured for Sasuke to take his seat, "Sasuke, are you allergic to anything?"

"No." He deadpanned.

"Then eat until you're full."

After the meal, Sasuke and Yui had slumped into the couch again to watch some TV. Aya was running around with Kakashi's ANBU mask on backwards and then she flipped it upside down and back to right side up, etc. At least she was amusing herself. Asahina made a second meal for Kakashi, who ate quickly so as not to draw attention to his unmasked face. Asahina wrapped up the leftovers and stuck them in the fridge.

Kakashi held out a hand, "I'll take you home."

"And the dishes?"

"I'll do it when I come back."

She took his hand lightly, "You better."

Her house wasn't far away and luckily it hadn't been damaged during the invasion. The sun was long gone and the cool night air had already settled in. Asahina felt his hand tighten around hers, "What?"

"Your mother doesn't approve." It didn't really seem like he was asking. He was telling her.

"So?"

"Are you still happy at home?

Her lips tightened as she thought about it, "Sure."

"If you ever become unhappy…" Kakashi stopped in the empty street a few blocks from her house.

She scowled, "Jeez. You're so lame!"

He flinched away when she swatted at him with her free hand, "I'm serious."

"My mother doesn't like you but she loves me. Besides, I'm a grown woman now. There isn't anything she could do to me."

"Does it bother you that we have an age difference?"

She thought about it for a minute, "Does it bother you?"

"Three years could be a lot…"

"You're so lame. Are you going to say something stupid again?"

He smiled halfheartedly, "I haven't done anything good for you."

She frowned, "You've done plenty."

"Name something."

"…" Her brow furrowed as she dug through her brain for answers that she probably didn't have.

"I didn't think so." He gave her that false smile, "If you're ever tired of me or unhappy…"

She probably shouldn't have been amused in a situation like this but he couldn't even finish the sentence and that was funny to her. If he was scared that she would dump him, he shouldn't have brought it up. What an idiot! She snapped her fingers in his face, "Hey! Depression King! Come back to this world. You said you wouldn't leave me. I wouldn't do that to you either."

He seemed more miserable than before but he forced his legs to continue their walk, "I'll manage to give you something good… I promise."

The lights were on in her house but she couldn't care any less than she already did. She reached up and tugged his mask down to peck his lips, "There. That was something good."

He leaned forward and touched his lips to her forehead, "Good night."

"Walk home safely." She hummed.

He watched until she was safely inside her house before forcing his legs to turn around and start the walk home. He was slightly surprised to see Yui and Sasuke asleep on the couch. Yui's head was leaning ever so slightly on the boy's shoulder and his was resting on her head. The TV was glowing quietly in the corner. He peeked in the kitchen to find the dishes done. Yui must've done them before she fell asleep. He dragged himself into his room and found Aya asleep but still clutching the mask in her tiny hands. He rolled onto his bed and flipped his book open with a guilty conscience to read until he was sleepy. He made a mental note that Sasuke was staying for the night before turning his complete attention to the book in front of him.


	24. Life's Struggles

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Asahina held her bloody shoulder gasping for breath. Well wasn't this just a great day! She had been with her student's just that morning for training when Kori stated that she saw some sort of scuffle going on just a few miles away. Her Byakugan couldn't have been wrong so Asahina had given them a break and told them to go home while she broke up the fight. Kurenai and Asuma had engaged an odd duo not too far away. She had arrived just in time to save Kurenai from the deadly attack of none other than Hoshigaki Kisame, the S-Class criminal from Kirigakure and one of their legendary Seven Swordsmen. The other man was Uchiha Itachi, the murderer of Sasuke's entire family and another S-Class criminal.

Kisame chuckled, "You jumped in just in time, Taiyo Asahina-san. What was your real name again?"

"Hikawa Asahina." She grumbled, "And you're Hoshigaki Kisame."

"Asahina-san, it's been a while." Itachi greeted her as if he was on her side.

She shot him a glare, "Why are you here? Are you after Sasuke?"

"Not at all." Itachi's face was expressionless.

"Itachi-san, can I kill her?" Kisame drawled.

"Freeze."

"Kakashi!" Kurenai gasped when the spikey haired jonin appeared to save the day.

"Stop." Itachi commanded, getting a proper response out of Kisame, "It would take too long if you fought them all. I'll do it."

"Clones!" Asahina dragged her feet across the water just in time to get out of a clone's range of attack. Kakashi had managed to slip out with a clone of his own.

"Nice, Kakashi." Kurenai squatted down to strike at his feet.

"Get down! That one is the clone!" Kakashi dashed into the clone's range to help her just as it exploded. At first glance it looked like the original hadn't moved from its spot but Itachi's jutsu was almost as fast as his movements. The water below them shot up as the clone exploded.

Asuma approached just as the water was beginning to calm, "Kurenai! Kakashi!"

Asahina dived out of the way just as the clone that came after her exploded. She heard Kakashi call out to her and Asuma's arm steadied her before they regrouped. She muttered her thanks and slid into position beside Kurenai.

Kakashi glanced over at her once but Itachi's voice kept him from asking any questions, "I see. You're not bad for someone who doesn't have the blood of the Uchiha Clan. Your sharingan puts a strain on the rest of your body but mine does not. I'll show you why our clan was the most powerful."

"Close your eyes!" Kakashi barked. The three other jonin squeezed their eyes shut at his command, "Listen. You guys can't open your eyes. If he looks you in the eye it's over. The only person who can fight him now is someone with the sharingan."

"It could be true, that a sharingan user could fight me." Itachi seemed completely confident in his ability, "But my Mangekyo sharingan can only be stopped by someone who has the same bloodline as me. My Tsukiyomi cannot be beaten."

Only a split second later, Kakashi was on his knees gasping for breath. Asahina's eyelids were twitching, "Kakashi!"

"Keep them closed!" He growled, breathing hard, "You're after Sasuke, aren't you?"

"No. We're here for the Fourth Hokage's legacy."

The same thought wandered into each of their heads. _**Naruto!**_ They were after the Nine-Tailed Fox. Kakashi's labored breathing continued, "You're after the Kyubi. You guys are the Akatsuki, aren't you?"

"Shut up." Asahina hissed. Telling the enemy you had info on them was the fastest way to get killed.

"Kisame. Kill Kakashi. It's time to get rid of them." Itachi commanded.

Asahina's eyes snapped open just as the Akatsuki member rushed forward to bring his sword down on them.

Kakashi's voice rang in her ears, "Asahina!"

She slammed her fist into his wrapped sword and let out a scream when he pulled it away, loosening the bandages around the sword and scraping her arm with something that felt like extremely sharp sandpaper. He charged forward again and she managed to weave some complicated signs but it was unnecessary.

Gai's voice echoed over the water as he made his entrance, "Leaf Hurricane!"

"Who the hell are you?" Kisame growled at the loss of his prey.

"Konoha's magnificent Green Beast! Might Gai!"

"You're just an exotic animal."

"Don't underestimate him."

Asahina could've sworn that she heard Kakashi say, "Thank god" before slumping to the side in an exhausted manner.

Gai turned and lifted the man only to throw him over his shoulder like a potato sack, "Why are you two closing your eyes?"

"Asahina, you opened them?" Asuma's cigarette fell into the water beneath him.

She didn't answer but Gai just kept talking, "Open them. All you have to do is look straight at his feet. I developed this method to fight Kakashi. If you don't look at his eyes, he can't do anything to you."

"If you say it like that… It sounds easy." Kurenai and Asuma both opened their eyes cautiously.

"You just have to watch his feet to read his moves."

"You're the only person who could possibly do that." Asuma mumbled.

"Here. Kurenai, take Kakashi's to the hospital. Asuma, Asahina, support me. We just have to hold them here until my reinforcements arrive."

"Arrogant isn't he?" Kisame chuckled.

"Stop. We're leaving." Itachi was definitely the smarter of the two, "We didn't come here to start a war. Let's go."

No one moved to stop their retreat. The battle was over for now.

* * *

Yui's eyes flickered open and she immediately realized that someone that shouldn't have been there was there. Her neck turned slowly and she realized that she had been sleeping on his shoulder. What was he doing there? Her mind took some time to remember that he had stayed to eat with them the previous night and they had been watching TV together. They must've fallen asleep. She turned her neck from side to side in attempts to crack it but stiffened when his head fell onto her shoulder.

He looked different when he was asleep. The normally competitive and cold Sasuke almost looked like a normal person when he was sleeping. His eyes began to crack open and just like she had done moments ago, he took his time to realize what had happened. He grunted, "I'll see you around, Yui. I'm training today."

"Oh… Alright…" She was slightly disappointed that he was leaving but scolded herself as soon as he left, "Disappointed? How stupid. He's nobody to you."

"Yui." Aya whined, "Are you talking to yourself?"

"Oh you're awake."

"Mhmm… I'm hungry. I want to buy dango… Can I go?"

"Sure…" She smiled, "Take your time."

Aya dashed out the door and didn't look back. Yui was midway through her morning rituals when several rowdy voices practically knocked the door down and marched into Kakashi's room. She peeked out and saw Asahina among them so she just shrugged and just finished brushing her teeth. She heard the door creak open again as she washed her face. She dried it with a towel and peeked out to see that Sasuke had returned, "Did you forget something?"

"Is Kakashi back?"

Yui gestured toward his room door, "In there."

"Kakashi…?" Sasuke scowled, "Why are all the jonin here when Kakashi's sleeping?"

"Uhh…" Gai glanced over to Asahina, "It's not really like that."

Yui peeked out of the bathroom again as another person just wandered into their home like they owned the place, "Is it true that Itachi is back and he's after Naruto?"

She caught a glimpse of Sasuke's expression before he ran out. It was either terrified or terrifying or maybe both. She threw the laundry into the machine, "What's an Itachi?"

"AOBA, YOU DUMBASS!" Asahina's voice echoed through every room in the small apartment from Kakashi's room to the rather large bathroom by the kitchen where Yui was doing the laundry. A lot more yelling seemed to follow. She sighed. It was going to be a noisy day apparently.

* * *

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kori flopped onto her back after another failed attempt, "Again?!"

Rokuro hummed in amusement, "Master, maybe you should change the amount of chakra you use as an offering. My mother is dying to meet you."

"Change it? Go up or down?"

"Up." He purred when his master rubbed his neck, "Or down if you want to summon one of my nieces or nephews."

"Oh boy." Kori weaved her hands into another set of signs, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Rokuro just disappeared from beside her and reappeared in the new spot in front of her, "Master… You do not understand the less chakra or more chakra part, do you?"

"Ah!" She collapsed back onto her rear, "This is crazy! I've been doing this for hours!"

"Hmm…" Neji's eyes narrowed at her, "If you have time to be messing with that cat, why don't you work on your taijutsu? Hiashi-sama would appreciate it."

"Leave me alone!" She whined, "He said it himself, I'm terrible at taijutsu by our 'prestigious standards'. Let me find something I'm good at!"

"Well if you can only summon one… You're not good at that either." Neji snorted and kept walking.

"I'd like to see you try it." She growled, "Rokuro! Again!"

"Yes Master." He disappeared in another cloud of smoke only to be re-summoned in a moment, "Master… Chakra?"

"I don't have any left! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" She blinked a few times and leaned forward, "Who the heck…?"

"Ahh… That's my nephew." Rokuro made an amused sound, "Koichi! What are you doing in the presence of our master?!"

Koichi looked up from digging the dirt out of his paws. He glanced up at his uncle and then at his master. He was considerably smaller than Rokuro but he straightened out immediately and showed the same loyalty, "Master!"

"Hyuga Kori." She petted the cub, "Call me Kori."

"Kori-sama!"

She sweat dropped, "Rokuro!"

"Yes, Kori-sama?"

"Gah!" She threw her hands up in frustration, "Not another one!"

"But you were the one who called me." Koichi whined, his eyes sparkling with sad tears.

"Oh no!" She rubbed the cub's back, "I didn't mean it like that. You can call me whatever you want… Don't cry."

"Yes, master." He mewed, instantly happy.

She groaned and fell straight back onto her rump, "I finally did it! Neji! Neji, come look!"

Her brother didn't look amused at all, "It's smaller than the previous one. Useless."

"I'll summon a bigger one next time!" She frowned as he walked back into the house.

"My mother and father are both bigger." Rokuro assured her, "And my grandfather is even bigger. Don't worry."

"How do I summon a bigger one?"

"More chakra." Rokuro repeated for the hundredth time that day.

"Gah! I don't have anymore!" She rolled to the side, "Give me a break!"

"Your wish is my command." Rokuro bowed his head flattened out for Koichi to crawl onto his back, "We will just sit here."

* * *

"Kai-kun~"

"Oh. Not again." He groaned as arms threw themselves around his shoulders from behind, "Go away!"

"You're so cruel to me. Help me practice my lines." She held a script book in front of her, "Please, onii-chan~"

"What?" He snapped.

"That's my line." She whispered, "Read the next one."

Kai's father looked at them in a rather amused way, "Go on, Kai."

"Yes, father." He inwardly sighed as he read the next line stiffly, "Don't whine. I'll take you wherever you want just don't whine."

"Yay! Onii-chan! I want to go shopping." Her voice was annoying him.

"Anywhere but there."

"Stop reading like that. You sound like a robot." She added that feminine whine to her voice.

He gritted his teeth, "Anywhere but there."

"You would make a horrible actor." She noted.

Hajime just laughed, "She's right son. Try a little harder next time."

Kai's head was burning with anger. He could've sworn there was steam coming out of his ears, "Yes, father."

"Whatever." Koyuki giggled, "But onii-chan! I want to go shopping!"

"I don't care."

"Please~"

"Oh alright." His nose scrunched at the line. How could this guy give in so soon?

"Next scene." Koyuki reached over his shoulders and turned a few pages, "Onii-chan~ Buy me that. And that. And that."

"Buy it yourself!"

"That's not fair! I don't have any money."

"You wanted to go shopping and didn't bring any money? You idiot."

"You're bad at this." Koyuki snatched the script from his hands to go practice on her own but not before saying, "You robot!"

Kai just sneered at her backside and stomped away, "I can't figure that girl out. She's got some sort of multiple personality disorder."

He sat on the now repaired rooftop flinging shuriken after shuriken down onto the target hanging on the tree without looking. When he glanced over, he sweat dropped. That's what he got for throwing them without looking. The shuriken were strewn about the length of the tree, not a single one of them had hit its target. Koyuki was suddenly on the roof next to him, "Hmm… Kai-kun, you have bad aim."

"What are you doing up here?" He hissed.

"Associating with my fiancé!" She announced.

He slid off the roof and growled, "Get a new fiancé."

She made an attempt to follow him but tripped over the rim of her own yukata and fell forward with a girlish scream. Kai's natural instinct was to go back and catch her. His head landed on the grass in a hard, un-ninja like manner and he groaned. The girl was lying with her chest on his stomach, "Thank you…"

His head was throbbing and he barely understood what she had said, "Get off."

Her weight was removed in an instant, "Oh no! Kai-kun, how many fingers am I holding up?"

He forced his eyes open, "I'm not stupid. I can count!"

Her fingers blurred into several unrecognizable shapes but he wasn't about to say that. She lowered her hand and stood up, dusting her yukata off before offering him a hand. He didn't make any movements and she held up her fingers again, "How many?"

"Two…" He just threw out a guess.

"And now?"

He saw eight but no one has eight fingers on one hand, "Four."

"Kai-kun. I thought you said you could count." She turned her head to count her own fingers before turning back, "There are only three."

"That's what I meant." He hissed. He could feel the pulse in his head as it began to die down his vision stopped spinning.

"Umm… And now?"

"Four."

"Hmm… And now?"

"You didn't change anything." He growled.

"Oh good. Just checking, Kai-kun."

He sat up slowly and involuntarily groaned when his head began to throb again. She knelt down next to him, "Do you want me to call your father?"

"No." He snapped, a little too quickly for his pulsing head.

She helped him up when he was ready and watched as he snatched his arm from her grip and staggered awkwardly back to his room.

Kai barely laid out his futon before collapsing onto the floor, "That's why I hate girls."

His mind ran through a day in the past when his brother had slammed straight into the ground and cracked his head open trying to catch his stupid girlfriend as she fell out of the tree. She was trying to get a cat to come down or some stupid feminine sympathetic job. His father often spoke about protecting the family and his mother had once told him a story about how his father had come to save her when she was in danger during the previous war.

Kai just couldn't comprehend those strange actions. His mother wasn't a ninja. As much as he loved his mother, he couldn't understand why his father would throw himself into harm's way to save a normal woman. She was no help to the village at the time but the loss of a shinobi during a war could tip the scale. He might've understood if she was a ninja too but she was an ordinary woman with no battle skills. Why?

His mind wandered to thoughts of his crush. Kori was a ninja. She wasn't even an ordinary ninja. She was someone that he could count on, an intelligent, powerful, talent, cute ninja. His nose crinkled as soon as he realized he thought she was cute. Yui was a beautiful girl with a perfect body for someone her age and compared to Yui, Kori was much less feminine but there was a certain charm about her. Too bad he couldn't be marrying her. His eyebrow lifted on its own. Maybe he could still marry her. There was time for his father to change his mind. Maybe he should just bring her around more and then his father might be able to see that Kori's a much better choice for the family. Then again, Hajime might think in the completely opposite direction since Hyuga Hiashi spread around the idea that she was a less talent ninja than she actually was. The door slid open to interrupt his thoughts. Koyuki slid into the room, "Kai-kun… Are you okay now?"

He just glared up at her without moving, "I'm always okay. Get out."

She flopped down next to him, completely ignoring his orders, "Kai-kun, I like you. I really do want to marry you."

He snorted, "You're thirteen. You'll change your mind in a few days when the hormones kick in again."

"And if I don't?"

"Then wait another few days. It'll happen someday."

"What kind of girls do you like Kai-kun?"

"Ninjas." He grunted, rolling onto his side to turn his back to her.

She frowned, "If I become a ninja will you marry me?"

"I like girls who have possessive brothers who attack me when I go near his sister." Kai glared at the wall as he thought of Kori's over-protective brother, Neji. He didn't really look like the nice brother character but he was a quietly threatening figure in the girl's life.

"Are you describing someone I know?" She asked quietly.

"Possibly. Maybe you can die your hair blue while you're at it. Get color contacts or something." He grumbled, "So unless your family can adopt an over-protective brother and you become a ninja I won't even think about marrying you."

"You're greedy." She grinned, "You can only have one."

He weighed his options and adopting a brother wouldn't be too hard if she played her cards right, "Become a good ninja."

She stood and marched out of the room without another word.

He smirked, "Game over."

There was no way an actress would become a ninja. He was getting out of this ridiculous marriage eventually. She would get tired of training and trying to be a ninja and when that day comes, she'll go to his father herself and tell him that she doesn't want to get married anymore. If he was lucky, she wouldn't even start training. His life would be perfect after that even if Kori didn't like him back he would at least have the time to get over her slowly. It was perfect.

* * *

Toshizo had gone to the café against his teammate's suggestion to stay away from his new crush but he had an excuse. A delivery was in order. The girl's father looked up and called out to his daughter as soon as the ninja came in. The girl smiled shyly as soon as she saw him. He held his hand up in greeting, much like the cool Kai in an attempt to make a good impression but that was a major failure in his book because he wasn't the type to make silent greetings or at least not make them coolly.

Hoshina bowed ninety degrees as soon as she saw him, "S-Senpai! You didn't have to bring them… I was going to pick them up. Sorry."

He noticed how the girl's light brown hair fell around her face as she held her head low but ended up turning the other way when his face began to turn colors, "No need to apologize. It's not a bother."

The girl looked up at him timidly, "Thank you."

"Ah…" He ended up fumbling with the box in a rather uncool manner as he handed it over.

She tore the bill from the top of the box and bowed again, "I-I'm sorry! Could you wait while I get the money from upstairs?"

"It's fine." He blurted before he could think about it and ended up turning pink again, "I-I mean we're both ninjas so… Just think of it as a gift!"

"Oh no!" She blushed, "I couldn't! Please wait!"

He gritted his teeth nervously as soon as she turned and ran up the stairs. Why did he have to say something stupid to someone he didn't even know? She probably didn't even know his name yet and he practically given himself away. The girl stumbled on the stairs and let out an embarrassed squeak as she returned to him with an envelope.

"Ah. Thanks." He tried to play it cool after his earlier mistake as he fled. His friends had taken the time to give him advice that he couldn't even use. He wasn't cool and he couldn't pretend he didn't like her. That just wasn't him. This was a problem.


	25. Life Moves On

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

Asahina frowned, clenching Kakashi's hand. He groaned again, "Asahina…"

"I'm here, you idiot. What do you want?"

"Just making sure." His grip tightened around her hand, "I'll get up soon."

"You've been saying that for the past two days." She snapped, "Let's go to the hospital."

Gai was already flexing his muscles in preparation for a violent method of persuasion, "Kakashi! Are you ready?"

"Why is he still here?" Kakashi sighed.

She sweat dropped, "He's your best friend isn't he?"

"I don't think so." Kakashi's eye shut and Gai screamed about the injustice.

"Let's go to the hospital." Asahina frowned.

He lazily lifted his arm, "I can move. I'll get up soon. Don't worry."

Her eyes narrowed but he just chuckled. He wasn't lying. He was sure he'd get up someday but in truth he could only move his arm. His whole body protested against moving but his mind protested against going to the hospital so he was in a jam.

Gai slung his arm around Asahina's shoulders, "What do you see in this idiot?"

"A future hospital patient." She snapped, "I see a hospital patient on the inside!"

He flinched, "I see myself staying right here."

Asahina's eyebrow twitched, "Gai. Do it."

The bushy-browed jonin howled and threw Kakashi's over his shoulder, "To the hospital!"

He only had one thought as Gai flew down the street to the hospital, "How could she do this to me?"

"What? I can't hear you, Kakashi! Speak up!" Gai's laugh was booming down the nearly empty streets.

Asahina lazily followed them into the hospital to have Kakashi admitted. The nurse ran a series of tests and then left the jonin be.

Asahina smirked down at the man, "Should've just let me take you when Gai was on his break, at least you wouldn't have suffered the embarrassment of being a potato sack."

"You're losing your youthfulness, Kakashi!" Gai was still as energetic as ever, "I'll go visit Lee now so enjoy your time! Don't be too lonely without me, Asahina."

"Oh, I won't." She muttered under her breath as soon as he was out of the picture.

Kakashi's eye followed her around the room lazily as she searched for something to do, "You're bored."

"I want to go home." She suddenly said, "It's terrible here. There's nothing to do."

"Take me with you."

"No. You can just die of boredom here." She didn't like the look he was giving her. It was rather threatening for someone like Kakashi to look at someone like that. She quietly sat in the stool next to his bed and put her hand in his demanding one, "I didn't mean it."

"I didn't think so." He teased her quietly.

"Shut up."

"ASAHINA! KAKASHI!" Gai stormed back in, "I forgot to tell you the other day but Sasuke's in here too."

"Sasuke?" They exchanged looks.

"Yeah. You told me to go after him but when I caught up it was already too late. Itachi had already broken his wrist and there were some other complications." Gai admitted, "So he's here too. Just thought I would tell you."

Gai pulled up a chair next to Asahina to glare down at Kakashi, "You lucky man. You're not pretending just so she'll hold your hand, are you?"

"She would hold it even if I was pretending." Kakashi grinned.

Gai just shook his head, "You make me sick."

Kakashi tore his eyes away from the woman, "Sorry, did you say something?"

Gai shook his fist angrily into the air, "You're just playing cool! You just irritate me, my eternal rival!"

Asahina laughed, "Gai, you just cured my boredom."

"Don't worry, love. Kakashi's boring but I'll be youthful forever!"

"That's kind of disgusting." Kakashi commented, "Then you guys won't be able to grow old together."

"She's the picture of youth!" He declared, "She'll be youthful with me… Speaking of youthful, Naruto went to find the next Hokage. Tsunade-sama."

"Her?" Asahina laughed, "She's going to gamble away all our funds! I heard she was an addicted gambler."

"I don't know about that but Tsunade-sama is the picture of youth!" Gai thrust his fist into the air, "That's Asahina in the future. Age eighty in reality but only twenty in appearance!"

"Disgusting." Both Kakashi and Asahina deadpanned before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

Gai went off on the two about youth and then complained about youth and disgusting being on opposite sides of the spectrum. Yeah. Everything was fun when Gai was around.

* * *

"Hello! Is anyone here?" Kori knocked on the door of a house that was almost as familiar to her as her own front door.

An equally familiar animalistic woman opened the door and looked down at her for only a second before sighing, "Kori. I don't see why you're friends with my stupid son. Did he ask you to come for him again?"

"Ahh… He said he wanted to go on a walk in the mornings from now on so…" The Hyuga scratched her head awkwardly.

"Sorry about him. Just one second." Kiba's mother just smiled the same way she did every time before turning around and barking orders to her sleeping son, "KIBA! Get out of bed! You make her wait for you every single day! Get up before I come in there!"

If it was someone's first day coming to get him, he or she would've probably been frightened by Inuzuka Tsume's almost manly way of scolding her son but Kori was used to it all. She knew the order of things very well. Tsume would greet her like a normal person and then turn around and yell at her son. Kiba would stumble out from his room with his jacket unzipped and Akamaru on his head but she wouldn't see him just yet. After that, there would probably be an aggressive door slamming session as Kiba made his way to the bathroom. Finally he would make his way to the door way, shoving something into his mouth, and grumbling a meaningless apology through the food, where Tsume would scold her son for doing this every morning.

Today was no different. Kori could almost count down the time she would have to wait in seconds.

Kiba smiled sheepishly when his mother closed the door and retreated back into the house, "Tomorrow, could you come like ten minutes later?"

"Sure." She answered. It would be the same anyways. She would come ten minutes later the next day and then the day after and he would still go through the same ritual and then he would tell her to come at the original time and the cycle would start all over again. Kori knew that she could probably come an hour later and he would probably still be in bed when she got here.

"You promised to show me your new summoning." He lowered his hood to reveal his messy brown hair.

"When we get to the river." She had gotten quite good at summoning the little cub, Koichi, "He's cute."

Kiba's nose wrinkled as they passed the seafood restaurant, "I can't agree with you. Cats are strange either way."

"You'll like him." She laughed at the thought of the little tiger, "He's really cute."

"No guarantees there." His eyes flickered to a familiar set of beautiful legs and silver hair, "Hey. It's Yui-chan!"

The beautiful girl turned at the sound of her name, "Kiba-kun. Kori."

Kori was lucky that she was a girl. The way Yui's lips turned upward ever so slightly made Kiba's face turn a few shades of pink. There wasn't anyone who could deny that Yui was beautiful, especially when she smiled like that.

Kori waved to her teammate, "What are you doing all alone?"

"I was going to visit Sasuke but I decided against it after seeing Sakura."

Kori's face twisted into a slight expression of amusement at the look on her best friend's face, "Don't let Sakura get to you. If you really like him just go for it."

"Yeah…" Kiba stretched his mouth into the widest grin possible but it snapped back into a frown in less than a second.

"Or you could just go on a date with Kiba." She laughed.

"HEY! Why is that so funny?"

"Sorry sorry." She grinned, "Yui, I'm mean to him but he really is a good guy."

The beauty just blinked at them awkwardly, "That doesn't make any sense."

"He's my best friend. I'm supposed to be mean to him." Kori shrugged, "He bullies me all the time."

"When did I ever bully you?!" Kiba screamed at the injustice. She was supposed to be helping him. Not busily making him look like a jerk.

Yui held up a hand and inclined her head slightly, "I'll be going now. I guess I'll visit Sasuke one more time."

As soon as she was out of earshot, Kori hissed, "If you keep staring at her like that your eyes are going to fall out of your head."

He just snorted, "Staring at her like what? I wasn't staring."

"Psh. Yeah you were! Just admit it, you're head over heels for her."

There was no hiding it from Kori. Kiba scratched his cheek awkwardly, "Well… I don't dislike her."

"Hyuga Kori!"

Both Kiba and Kori groaned at the sound of the voice and turned to respond, "Ino."

"I heard Tsunade-sama's coming to be our new Hokage!" The blonde grinned.

"So?"

"So! I thought we could all get together and celebrate! She's going to heal Sasuke-kun after all." Ino squealed, "The girls, I mean."

"So we're celebrating Sasuke's recovery, before it happens? And without him?" Kori just lifted her eyebrow awkwardly, "That makes no sense."

"Just come to my house tonight at seven!" Ino jabbed her finger into the Hyuga's chest, "Don't be late."

The time she had left just flew by. Kori had made it to the river that she had cleaned several times. She showed Kiba her newest summoning, Koichi. Turns out, Kiba couldn't even resist the sparkling cute eyes of the white tiger cub. Surprisingly, Akamaru and Koichi got along quite well for a cat and a dog. They had worn themselves out beside the river before Kiba decided it was time for him to go meet with his team. They made a promise to walk again tomorrow morning before taking different paths. She made lunch for Neji and herself before practicing her summoning jutsu again until the time came for her to go to Ino's house.

Neji just shrugged and waved her away when she carefully stated her plans for the night, "Just come home at an appropriate time."

She wasn't really good friends with Ino but the girl always invited her and she never refused. She had no reason to. Ino was just trying to make friends and provide the girls with some bonding time. As usual, she was the last to arrive but the others were used to that too. Sakura and Ino were already arguing about Sasuke and Yui just seemed to be listening in quietly. It only took Ino ten minutes to realize that everyone was here. Kori made a note that that was a new record for her.

The blonde girl just tossed everyone a can of juice and opened a few bags of chips, "So… Kori, care to share what happened between you and Kakashi-sensei?"

The Hyuga nodded, this is how the gossiping begins and this is how rumors are fixed, "Nothing happened. I told Kakashi-sensei that Asahina-sensei like someone with the initials H.K and then he told Kotetsu-san and it all went downhill from there."

"Eh!" Tenten leaned forward, "So there was nothing?"

Kori's nose twitched, gossip-time was the only time Tenten was even remotely kind to her, "Nothing at all."

"Yui-chan!" Ino cut in, "What's with your sudden interest in Sasuke-kun? I hate to admit it but you guys came to this village with Sasuke-kun's team. Are you guys close?"

"Not really. I was slightly attracted that's all."

"Slightly attracted? It looked like he was into you too." Tenten shied away from the group when Ino and Sakura began their glaring, "Uhh… But you should move on to someone better. I'll introduce you to Neji if you want!"

"Tenten." Kori's voice was practically a feral growl, "How does juice sound?"

She held up her hands in defense as the younger genin held her can up threateningly, "No thanks…"

"Neji?" The gears in her brain turned with the purpose of matching a face to the name.

Hinata shy voice answered, "Her brother."

"I swear." Tenten sighed, "Your brother's going to be single for life with a sister like you."

Ino slid a magazine to them from across the room, "The main article is about cock-blocking siblings and how to get rid of them. Maybe you should show it to him."

The Hyuga nearly tore the magazine in two, "He's not old enough to be cock-blocked!"

"He's going to die a virgin then." Ino and Sakura nodded together.

"D-Don't say that." Hinata fidgeted awkwardly, "Ko-Kori-chan wouldn't go that far."

Yui made a note that Kori's face told a different story, "There's no difference. When you die, it doesn't matter."

A knock on the door ended their gossiping and odd talk. Ino turned over her shoulder, "NO WAY! Guys come here!"

The girls exchanged quick looks and dashed to the door, "What?"

"It's really her! The actress Fujikaze Yukie."

"So…? We met her before too." Kori deadpanned.

"We did?"

"When we went to eat Yakiniku?"

"EH?!" A collective scream from the girls had Ino's mother warning them to be quiet, "The girl that was attached to Kai-kun?"

"Yeah." Kori had to admit that the girl looked different now. Yukie had a more actress-like appearance today and was dressed like the ninja genius she played in her most famous movie.

"Can I call you Kori-chan?" Yukie gave her a half-smile.

"Sure… Fujikaze-san…"

"You can just call me Yukie." She was still showing the group a practiced half-smile.

"And… You're here for…?"

"Actually." She stuck out her tongue sheepishly, "You probably all know but I'm Kai-kun's fiancé."

Kori's jaw was slack, "Huh? What? You what?"

"Kai-kun had a fiancé?" Tenten sobbed, "Really?!"

"And there goes bachelor number two." Ino sighed, "Good thing number one is still available."

"Whoops. I'm sorry if you didn't know." The actress smiled coyly, "But Kai-kun has agreed to marry me if I become a good ninja. So I was wondering if you could teach me, Kori-chan."

"Why me?" Kori asked suspiciously. It seemed that the girl knew more than she was letting on.

"To put it quite bluntly, Kai-kun seemed to be completely describing you when I asked what kind of girls he liked."

"Saizo doesn't like me. He just doesn't know any girls other than me." The Hyuga waved her away, "I'm not good enough to teach anyone. Find someone else."

"It has to be you, Kori-chan." Yukie insisted, "I even came to see you properly dressed in ninja attire so that you would see my resolve."

"…" The group exchanged awkward glances but Ino finally spoke up, "I hate to break it to you, but no one dresses like that for real."

Yukie completely ignored Ino's comment, "So will you teach me?"

"A person named Tsunade is going to be our next Hokage." Kori's expression remained indifferent, "If the Hokage gives permission, you might be able to join our team but the probability that she sends you straight to the Academy is higher."

Yui frowned, "Is that how it's done in Konoha?"

"Agreed." With that, Yukie turned and left without even a goodbye and the gossip session continued.

* * *

"She did what?!" Kai snapped, "Kori. No matter what don't teach her."

Kori couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't told him about his fiancé's proposition to make him angry but apparently, he had thought Yukie wouldn't even think about taking him up on his offer. She had waited a few days before bringing it up but apparently Yukie had meant to keep it a secret from her fiancé.

"Tch." The blond ran a hand through his hair, "I'm going to give that witch a piece of my mind."

"You do that. I won't teach her if you don't want me to." She waved at his stiff shoulders until he was no longer in sight, "Now… I guess it's time to go get Kiba."

Surprisingly, the routine was broken. The Inuzuka was wide awake and sitting on the porch when she arrived at his house. His mother was standing angrily beside him. Kori couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

Tsume brightened up at the sight of the Hyuga, "Kori! I woke him up on time for you."

"Thank you." She grinned at the grumpy boy, "I guess she finally got tired of yelling."

"Shut up!" He snapped, "I told Akamaru to wake me up but he just let her have her way."

The dog whined in protest.

"Get off your lazy ass and go on that walk!" Tsume kicked her son. Hard.

Kiba groaned and grabbed the girl, "Go!"

The walk was more than unpleasant. Kiba glared at her unpleasantly. She knew exactly what he was thinking too. He was probably blaming her in his head.

"Hey. You should ask Yui to the fireworks celebration." She told him.

"Eh? For the new Hokage?" Kiba's mood was instantly lifted at the sound of the ex-mist ninja's name, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I tried to talk to her yesterday and the whole Sasuke thing was completely blown over. She likes someone else."

"WHAT?!" Kori laughed at the thought, "I guess girls do get over the great Uchiha Sasuke. So? Who is it this time?"

Kiba's face twisted into a scowl, "Your damn brother!"

She laughed even harder at the sound of that, "She gets over Sasuke and goes straight to Neji?! Hahaha. Why Neji?"

"You didn't let me finish. I asked her who she wanted to go with and she threw out his name. And then she gave me a funny look! What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means she likes pretty boys." The Hyuga's mind automatically compared her brother to the most popular boy around, "Hm. I never thought about it but I guess Neji's got an attractive face."

"Hey listen… I know you don't like it when people go after your brother but do you think you could get him to ask Yui to watch fireworks with him?"

"No." She answered faster than he could finish his question but then took it back, "If you want… I guess I could ask. But just cause she likes him doesn't mean you can't ask her! Especially since she only looks at people's looks, that means you have a chance!"

Kiba gave her that 'Are you serious?' look, "You think I can compete with looks when it comes to Sasuke or your brother?"

"…" She shook her head slowly, "Not really… But you've got a better personality than Sasuke at least! I can't really talk crap about my own brother…. But you've got a better sense of humor than Neji."

"Thanks but no thanks… I'll wait. For now just ask Neji to take her."

"Are you sure you don't want to at least try?"

"I'm sure." How could he not be? If the person he liked decided to like someone else, he at least wanted her to be happy. As long as Neji didn't pull any strange moves on her, he could put up with everything. If she decided to date Neji then he would wait until they broke up and he would have to like it. If they never broke up, he would have to deal with that too and pretend he was happy the whole way. To him, that's what it means to like someone.

* * *

News of the Hokage's Inauguration Celebration reached Toshizo late at night but he wasn't about to ask his crush. It was too big of a hurdle for him so he just decided to use work as an excuse to pull him away from it. He wanted to ask her but again, he wasn't even sure that she knew his name. The one thing he did know is that he was pulling a Hinata. He knew the shy girl often hid and watched Naruto in secret and that was exactly what he was doing to his crush.

The door to his family's store jingled as it opened. He spun around, "Welcome!"

"Um…" The brunette held a covered Styrofoam cup in front of her bowed head, "He-Here!"

"Eh?" He blinked down at her across the counter for a few moments before he finally realized what was happening, "What?"

"U-Umm… It's co-coffee." She stuttered, "F-For delivering the knives yesterday…"

"Ahh… O-Okay."

She frowned deeply, "Y-You don't drink coffee?"

He quickly moved to accept the cup, "Thanks…"

She flashed him the brightest smile he had ever seen with a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god… I-I didn't know what I was going to do if you said you didn't drink coffee."

He smiled and nodded, "You didn't have to bring me anything."

"N-No… I-I-I wanted to!" She squeaked.

"Do you even know who I am?" He asked, kind of surprised. Was she the type of person to give presents to strangers?

"Tsukara Toshizo-senpai…" She answered, "You're on K-Kai-senpai's team…"

Well… At least she knew his name, even if it was only because he was on Kai's team. He didn't know whether he should be grateful or hateful.

"U-Umm…" She stuttered, "I-I'll see you again!"

"Eh?" He just stood with the cup in his hands as she turned a literally ran away, "Did I do something wrong?"

Why were girls so complicated to him?


	26. Welcoming the New Hokage

_**Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Just my OC's.**_

* * *

"She's here!" Gai was screaming at the top of his lungs. Actually, he had been screaming for the past twenty minutes without stopping.

Asahina's ears were starting to get sore, "Tsunade-sama's here. We get it!"

"She can finally treat Lee! My precious student is finally going to get better!" Gai just didn't want to lower the volume. He let out a happy shout when Naruto dragged the new Hokage into Kakashi's room, "Hurry and treat Lee!"

"She's treating Kakashi first!" Asahina snapped, "Just wait like an adult!"

"Oh! You're Asahina, right? You grew a lot!" Tsunade was looking much younger than she should and her breasts were bigger than your average person's.

Asahina unzipped her flak jacket but that was a mistake and she zipped it right back up after realizing that comparing the size of her breasts with Tsunade was just going to lower her confidence. She sighed, "I didn't grow. I only got older."

Tsunade held her hand around her waist level, "You were only this tall when I last saw you. And is that Kakashi? Well let's have a look."

Asahina continuously zipped and unzipped her flak jacket as Tsunade treated him. Her eyes subconsciously narrowed each time Tsunade bent over to check something or ask how he was feeling. Naruto seemed to be awkwardly sweat dropping at the sight of the female jonin's madly twitching eyebrow. She didn't like how Tsunade's breast were so freaking big that they were practically touching Kakashi each time the medic bent to check his sharingan eye. The medic finally decided she was done and helped Kakashi sit up.

Her hands glowed momentarily as she did her thing and that was it, "I heard you got beaten by two thugs! I thought you were supposed to be a genius."

"Sorry." He grumbled tiredly.

"Tsunade-sama! Forget about this idiot and treat Lee!" Gai was practically in tears over the lack of attention his student received.

"Let's go!" Naruto practically dragged the lady out with them.

Asahina covered her chest area self-consciously when Kakashi's eye lazily turned on her while she had it unzipped, "Wh-What?"

"I didn't even say anything yet." He grumbled.

"You were looking, weren't you?" She growled suspiciously.

"Huh?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"There's no way you weren't looking!" Asahina stabbed her finger into his side, "They were so big they had their own gravitational field!"

"Hmm…?" He flicked one side of her jacket aside to poke her chest with two fingers, "Yours are attracting things too."

Her face turned ten shades of red in a split second and she smashed her fist straight into his gut, "What do you think you're touching?!"

He coughed and fell straight back into bed with a groan, "I won't do it again."

She snorted, "Good."

* * *

"Neji." Kori put a fresh cup of tea in front of her brother after clearing the table of their dinner dishes, "Tsunade-sama's going to be the next Hokage. Are you going to her inauguration celebration?"

"Ah… The fireworks festival?" Neji calmly sipped his tea, "There's no point."

"No plans? Then can you ask Yui to go with you?"

Neji's eyebrow twitched once, "Why would I do something useless like that?"

"Well… Uhh… It's romantic isn't it?"

"That's exactly why I'm asking you. Why should I do something so pointless?"

"But Sakura is already forcing Sasuke to go with her and Naruto is going with them. Saizo's probably going with his fiancé and Toshizo said he's working with his father so he can't go. And the only other cool guy to ask would be you…"

His eyes narrowed as he took another sip of tea, "Are you going?"

She nodded, "With Hinata-sama's team."

"So just take her with you."

"Kiba, Shino, and I are tagging along to make sure Hinata-sama actually talks to Naruto and then we're going to wander on our own. Yui wouldn't be having any fun. Please! Just ask her to go with you casually."

"Why would I have to do that?"

"We're trying to help her notice guys other than Sasuke. Just make sure not to fall for her for real cause she's really pretty."

"No. Ask someone else."

"If she comes to ask you then will you go with her?"

"No." He snapped.

"Please!" She held her hands together in a pleading gesture, "Just once."

"No!"

"Fine. Then don't talk to me!" She snapped and stomped straight back to her room.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "She's been doing that to me a lot since I said I would've left her to join the Main Branch. Ugh. Who am I talking to?"

* * *

Yui's morning was slightly hectic. She barely managed to throw the laundry in the machine and wake Aya in time to meet with her team for a few simple missions. Their final mission was quite the sight with Aya squealing as Kai got down on his knees to present a rose to their youngest teammate, Kori, before asking her to watch the fireworks with him that night. The girl accepted the rose appreciatively and agreed with a nod of her head.

Aya's squealing only stopped when Yui began to drag her home. The silver haired beauty barely managed to pull her friend back in time to keep her from running someone over, "I apologize."

Hyuga Neji stood their slightly awkwardly, "It's fine. Actually, I was looking for you."

"Me?" Yui pointed at herself slightly confused, "If it's about your sister, she's heading home."

"Uhh… No. Well it is about my sister but not that." His eyes narrowed, "You see, she said she's not going to talk to me unless I ask you to watch the fireworks with me tonight. So I'd appreciate it if you would do me the honor…"

"You have a very cute relationship with your sister but why me?" Yui asked.

"That's what I said." Neji sighed, "Does it offend you that I'm asking you to go with me for a reason other than to be in your company?"

"Not really." She smiled, admiring his beautiful features more than anything else, "I guess I'll go."

"No!" Aya waved her arms madly, "Yui! This guy is a jerk! Don't go with him! You deserve better! Someone like Kai-kun to get down on his knees for you!"

Yui just shook her head, "He has a legitimate reason. It would be terrible if I told him no and his sister never talked to him again."

"This may be shameful of me but could we meet at my house so that my sister sees you?" Neji murmured.

"Sure." Yui grinned.

And that exactly what she did. Kakashi returned to the apartment after Tsunade's actual inauguration to find Aya alone. Yui had changed into a reasonable yukata and met Neji at his house.

Kori almost peed herself laughing when she opened the door and saw the beautiful genin, "What are you doing here?"

"Well you might be angry but your brother invited me to watch fireworks tonight." Yui forced down a smirk at the look on Kori's face.

"H-He what?"

"You heard her." Neji slid the door open wider and nudged his sister out of the way, "Come in."

"Wh-What? Wait!" Kori subconsciously stepped aside, "Really?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, "You heard her. I asked her to go watch the fireworks with me."

"Uhh… That's great." Kori bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Her best friend was all wrong. Yui probably had zero feelings for her brother. It kind of looked like the beauty was here for a different reason all together. Kori's mind wandered through the possibilities but gave up. She could be wrong but it looked like Yui really only liked Neji for his looks and nothing more. What was this called? Eye candy, right? She only liked looking at his face. Yui would probably reject Neji if he was to seriously confess to her and that would be that.

"Kori!" Kai's voice was followed by a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Saizo! You're early."

"Saizo…" Neji's eyebrow twitched and he turned a glare on the blond, "What is he doing here?"

"Probably the same thing as Yui." Kai smirked, "Didn't she tell you?"

The genius' eyes narrowed dangerously at the hand on his sister's shoulder, "I didn't realize that you were his fiancé, Kori. Congratulations."

She laughed nervously, "I thought he was going with her. And Kiba's coming with us too so…"

As if on cue, Kiba and Shino cleared their throats, "We're not interrupting anything are we?"

"…" The room was silent as they waited for Neji's response.

"No." He grumbled, "Enjoy yourselves."

"Yes sir." Kiba wasn't stupid. He could almost feel the crackling tension in the air, "Kori, let's go get Hinata."

"Right." She smiled gratefully before following after them.

Yui lifted an eyebrow as soon as they were out of her range of vision, "I didn't know the Byakugan could be used for stalking too."

Neji didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about his actions, "If you were me, you would be doing the same thing."

"We could just follow them all night." Yui gestured toward the door, "We're both shinobi after all."

"Right." Neji was moving almost as soon as the words came out of her mouth. He was muttered something inaudible to her but she thought he was muttering death threats every once in a while.

The ex-kirigakure ninja was more than amused. Her older brother was dead but when he was alive, he wasn't like Neji at all. It was strangely cute to her. Yui decided that she wouldn't mind having a brother like Neji. He seemed to be a tsundere type of person. He acted like he was uncaring and cold but on the inside he worried the most. She giggled at the thought of Neji having a sister-complex but shook her head when he looked at her.

Kori wasn't really doing anything out of the ordinary. Both Kori and Kai already felt Neji's intense glare on their backs.

Kai leaned over and whispered, "If he's going to follow us, he should stop glaring like a serial killer."

"More importantly, what about your fiancé? Isn't she coming?"

Kai sighed, "I'm not interested in her."

"Okay!" Kiba cut in between them like a professional, "Neji's glaring and we're all going to die if I don't split you guys up so, Kori! Go stand next to Hinata for a minute."

"It seems like you've done this a lot." Kai snorted.

Kiba scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Actually, I've had it happen to me before. Neji used to think I liked her. Actually… If you talk to her for more than five minutes he'll probably jump to some odd conclusions."

"Kiba!" Kori pulled him over, "Look! I found Naruto!"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata's fingers were already starting to fidget shyly.

"Naruto!" Kiba nonchalantly made his way over to the blonde, "Why are you by yourself?"

"Sakura-chan ditched me and went somewhere with Sasuke!" He whined, "It's not fair! That's so cruel!"

"Cruel, huh?" Kiba smirked, "Hinata! We're ditching you."

"N-No way!" She squeaked.

"Have fun, Hinata-sama!" Kori swerved back around to stand with Kai, "What? We'll ditch you too if you want."

"Uhh… No." He sweat dropped.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Kiba dropped a stick of some kind of meat in her hands, "Try that."

"This is where I would normally scold you and tell you that you're going to get killed but it seems HE has no eyes for you today. Why? Because Kai's around." Shino mumbled.

"Neji doesn't follow us around all the time." Kori snorted, tearing a chunk of the meat with her fingers, "Hey, it's not bad."

"Hey! Let's eat this too!" Kiba swapped a few more coins for the next item, thrusting one into her hands and keeping one for himself.

Kori tore a chunk of the cotton candy off too. Her eyebrow rose, "What?"

Kai rolled his eyes, "You guys are very close."

"Sure…" She snorted, stuffing a part of the candy in his mouth, "I'm not giving you any more so savor it."

He subconsciously swallowed, forcing down a tint of pink, "I didn't ask."

"Ah! You swallowed too fast!" She shoved another chunk towards him, "Seriously though. Eat slowly."

"Hey!" Kiba snatched the chunk from her fingers, feeding it to Kai himself, "Let's try not to add more fuel to that burning glare over there."

"Whoops." She breathed, suddenly aware of the murderous intent flowing out from somewhere in the crowd.

"Hey! Let's try that next." Kiba laughed without much energy at the sight of his crush hiding in the bushes grasping Neji's arm, "And then those."

* * *

Asahina sighed. Her friends just passed her pitying looks. Kotetsu threw an arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry about it. He's a jerk."

"Kotetsu! You shouldn't talk about the higher ups like that." Izumo scolded his best friend half-heartedly, "Kakashi-san's probably just tired from being in the hospital."

Kotetsu snorted, "Yeah right. You're not supposed to be tired after you get out of the hospital like that. He's been sleeping for the past few days! He's just a jerk."

Kurenai gave her friend an apologetic look, "Maybe I should've dropped a few hints."

Asahina had given Asuma about a thousand hints and here he was but it wasn't Kurenai's fault. She sighed, "It's not a big deal."

"Right!" Kotetsu slapped her back, "Let's forget him and just have fun."

"You've been having fun all day!" Izumo snapped, "Who was practically sleeping during the inauguration?!"

Other than Kakashi, Gai was the only missing jonin. Things were definitely quieter without the guy. This is where he would be screaming about youth and enjoying the time to their hearts' content.

Asuma blew out another puff of smoke, "You know… We could just go and get him."

Kurenai gave the man a hard glare, "It doesn't work that way."

The look on his face said it all. Asuma was glad he had picked up on the hints and silently thanked Asahina for the help. He might not think fireworks were such a big deal but apparently the women in the village thought a lot of it. If they wanted watch fireworks so badly, they should be the ones to ask but apparently his opinion didn't matter. They had been wandering around all night and that was the only thing he had managed to discover. There wasn't much time left until the start of the fireworks and Kakashi had yet to show his face even once. Asuma had always known that Kakashi was a genius but not even genius shinobi can avoid women and for once he was in a better social situation than Kakashi.

"Asahina!" Kotetsu grumbled, "Don't I count for anything? I asked you to come didn't I?"

Kurenai gave the man the most deadly glare she had ever given anyone, ever, "It's not the same! Stop bugging her."

"Is it different because Izumo's being a third wheel?"

"Shut up!" Izumo snapped, "I was the one who told you to ask her!"

"Asahina! My love!" Gai sprang up out of nowhere to throw an arm around her, "I don't see Kakashi today. It must be my lucky day!"

"…" Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged fearful looks and scooted away from the pair as Asahina grabbed the front of Gai's yukata and shook him forcefully back and forth.

"So what? I don't need Kakashi to have fun!" She declared, shaking the man until she heard his brain rattling.

"E-E-EGGZACKULYY!" Gai's teeth clattered against each other, making his words difficult to understand, "I WIILLUU MARCHUU RIGHT BACK THTHTHTHERE AND TELL HIM THAT!"

"What?"

He took time to catch his breath as soon as she stopped shaking him, "What?"

"No. What did you say?"

"Uhh… KAKASHI! ABORT THE PLAN! I SCREWED UP!"

"I know." The man coolly stepped out of the shadows only a few meters away, "You always have to screw things up, don't you?"

"You can thank me later." He gave the pair a thumbs-up and ran.

Kurenai smiled, "He came for you."

"He came to save his own life." Asuma muttered as she dragged him away.

Kotetsu and Izumo had slipped away just moments before them and now it was just the two of them. Kakashi tugged awkwardly at the front of his plain black yukata, "I should've just dressed normally. Sorry."

"…" She just stood there blushing like a school girl.

"Asahina? Are you mad at me?"

"Y-You… Why are you here?"

He slowly closed the distance between them, "Why else would I be here?"

"But you… Gai… I… What?" She blurted dumbly.

"Come with me." He led her down the crowded street toward an empty wooden bridge over a quietly flowing stream, "I was going to ask you but I thought it was common sense so… I kind of skipped it over."

"…"

Kakashi leaned against the rail of the bridge, "You're not mad, are you?"

She threw her arms around his neck, "It's just like you to be late."

His arms snaked around her waist, "I got a little lost on the road of life."

"How many times have I heard that one?" She rolled her eyes.

"How many more time do you want to hear it?" He teased, "I could do it again."

"I feel bad for the woman who ends up marrying you." Asahina snorted, "You would only be four hours late to your own wedding."

He chuckled, "Okay. I'll make sure to be three hours and fifty-nine minutes late."

"That's cute." She flicked his nose in a scolding manner, "I'll make sure to keep track at your wedding."

He tilted his head back to look up at the stars, "My wedding, huh? Who would I be getting married to?"

"…" One of her hand subconsciously wandered to the scar on her neck, "Someone pretty with a killer figure. Probably someone who doesn't mind that you read strange books. Maybe someone who doesn't care about how late you are because she's equally late."

Kakashi tugged his mask down and leaned forward, "Are you not serious about me?"

She froze, "W-What?"

"If you're not… I'll make sure that I ruin your reputation so badly that you won't be able to marry anyone other than me." He breathed out, his lips only millimeters away from hers.

She gasped when his lips covered hers in a warm kiss and that was all the proof she needed. The evidence to back up his threat was all in the way his lips pressed against hers gently but firmly. He brushed away the hair that normally covered the scar on her neck before planting a kiss there too. He felt the woman grasp his shoulders tightly as he left a few more fleeting kisses on her scarred skin, "K-Kakashi! Stop."

She felt him smirk against her skin before teasing her, "Stop what?"

"Stop." She pleaded, "That's disgusting."

He froze and pulled away, "Sorry…"

She pulled her hair forward to cover her imperfection once more, "Not you…"

He ran a hand through her hair as the first of the fireworks began to light up the sky, "You're beautiful. Don't make me say it again."

Her face began to heat up and she turned around to watch the fireworks when she couldn't force the blush to stop spreading. His arms slid around her waist from behind and the two jonin just enjoyed the fireworks and each other's company for as long as they could.

* * *

"The Sand guys!" Kai hissed, "What are they doing here?"

The trio of genin stopped just in front of them. Kankuro waved an arm half-heartedly, "For the same reason as you guys probably. Oh, and to make up with Konoha."

"Your new Hokage is forgiving us. She's going to rebuild our broken treaty." Temari explained, "And that's what we're here for."

The three sand shinobi were all dressed in their normal clothes and obviously stood out amongst the crowd of traditionally dressed villagers.

The blond glared at the trio, "At least tell a believable story."

"I believe them." Kori put an arm out to stop her teammate. She eyed Gaara who had never taken his eyes off her from the moment they realized the other's presence. They were still wary of each other after all this time.

Gaara sighed, almost as if he was being forced to move up and say something, "Hyuga Kori. Could we join you?"

Gaara's siblings seemed to be the most surprised at his sudden request. Kankuro chuckled nervously, "What are you talking about?"

"We were ordered to come here and restore our relationship with Konoha." Gaara's mint green eyes never came off her face, "If they let us."

Kai stiffened considerably before leaning down to whisper, "Do you want me to tell him off for you?"

"Sabaku no Gaara. I think I owe you an apology first." She tore her eyes off his face and forced herself to incline her head, "I should've never looked at you like… some sort of monster. Even now, I'm still kind of afraid of you."

His eyes softened when she lifted her head to look at him, "You don't owe me anything."

She blinked a few times before straightening out and offering him a hand, "Then can we start from the beginning?"

He hesitated only a moment before taking a step forward to shake her hand, "Agreed… Kori."

Gaara noticed how her hand shook in his own despite her brave first step.

She tightened her grip on his hand and she smiled, "We're not so different after all."

He almost grabbed her hand as it slid away from his but he realized what he was doing and let his hand fall to his side. He didn't understand her conclusion. He was almost the exact opposite of her. Her dark bluish hair contrasted completely with his bright red hair. She was only slightly shorter than him and he was tempted to ask her age but he couldn't. Her eyes were such an empty color but they were similar to his in the way that they lacked distinctive pupils. The air was thick with tension and he knew that his siblings were holding their breaths. The Shukaku's voice inside his head screamed for blood and murder but it seemed much smaller than ever before. He sighed, "That might not be true."

"We're both shinobi. We've both had our share of hardships and bad days but in the end we're both people." She smiled, "I like you. You're a good person."

His eyes widened in surprise as his brain registered his words and the screaming of the Shukaku sank into silence. A ghost of a smile played on his lips at the thought of being liked by someone and the tension was gone. He heard Temari let out her breath and Kankuro chuckle. Her friends wore expressions of understanding on their faces. Some of them seemed proud of her words and before he knew it her friends were tugging on her arms and saying that they had to hurry and find a good place to watch the fireworks from. She didn't forget to turn and tell him to follow. A few more shinobi were waiting for them in the green grass beside the river and the end of the rows of festival stands. Gaara was able to recognize the genin that Temari lost to, Shikamaru, and his team.

Ino thrust a few picnic blankets into Kori's arms, "Kori! Spread those out hurry! I brought lots of snacks too."

Ino's group finally seemed to take notice of the sand trio, "What the heck are they doing here?!"

"They're my friends." Kori grinned sheepishly, "I invited them so could they just stick around?"

"…" Ino's shoulders seemed to relax slightly, "If you trust them… They're your responsibility!"

"Shikamaru. The jacket looks good on you." Kori gestured to his new flak jacket - a symbol of his promotion to chunin.

"Shut up." He groaned, "I've been teased enough for one day."

She laughed, "Congratulations. You were the only one who moved up, after all."

Temari and Kankuro seemed to mix in with the group nicely. Kori smiled at the thought and motioned for her brother to come out of hiding. He stiffened and pretended not to see her at first but then Yui dragged him over to join them.

Neji glared at Kai before sitting down only inches away from his sister, "Kori. When are we going home?"

"Real question is when are WE going home?" Kai snorted, accepting a bag of chips from Ino.

"WE?! You don't live at my house!" Neji growled.

Kori looked left and right as the two glared at each other with a half-hearted smile and then noticed Gaara standing only a short distance away watching her group. Her eyes lit up and she shot straight up to grab him, "Meet my brother?"

"Sure." He followed after her to sit on their blanket.

"Neji!" She snapped her fingers between the arguing genin, "It's Gaara!"

"You made friends with foreign shinobi?" Her brother scanned him over quickly and glared, "The guy who sent Lee to the hospital?"

Gaara didn't deny it but he didn't seem comfortable with sitting there anymore.

Kori tapped her fingers to her forehead a few times and then grinned, "Hey! I have something to tell you, Gaara!"

Neji glared daggers at her, "Tell it to me too."

"During the finals, you know how I told you to switch spots with me?" She pointed at her brother to calm him.

"Yeah. So?"

"It's cause you were standing next to this guy." Gaara stiffened as the roars of the Shukaku rang in his head again. She smiled at him sheepishly, "I'm sorry. It was probably really stupid but I didn't want him to stand next to you."

An apology. Once again the Shukaku's voice died down and a warm feeling rose in his chest, "I thought we were starting from the beginning. Your apologies are unnecessary."

"Starting… From the beginning? WHAT?!" Neji snapped, "Starting what?"

Kori sent a quick thanks to whoever was assigned to set off the fireworks for their impeccable timing. She span her brother around on his buttocks and threw her arms around his shoulders, "Look!"

When it seemed like he wasn't going to attack anyone, she leaned back to watch more comfortably. She turned her head to the side when she realized someone was staring at her. Gaara was giving her a strange look and she couldn't really put her finger on it but it was the same look that Kai gave her sometimes. It was a really gentle look. Maybe it was fact that Gaara was the one looking at her like that or maybe it was just the fact that it was someone other than Kai but whatever it was, it made her heart flutter strangely.

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, "I-It's not as loud as I thought it would be."

Kai leaned back, "Want to go closer?"

"Umm… No. I was just saying it's pretty quiet."

"There's nowhere closer to go, stupid." Neji scoffed.

"What?" Kai growled, "You want to fight?"

"Cut it out!" She snapped, turning both of their heads forward, "Just watch. Oh! It's Sasuke… I'll be right back."

Sasuke glared at her as she approached him, "What?"

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

She gestured to his bandages, "I was talking about that but you're talking about something else."

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance at their misunderstanding, "Tch. This was nothing. Itachi could've just killed me right there."

"I'll listen if you want to keep talking." She offered.

"There's no way you could understand me. Someone who still has family around couldn't possibly begin to understand." Sasuke waved her away, "Get lost."

"I wouldn't offer if I couldn't but no one can understand you if you don't give them a chance." She tossed a wave over her shoulder as she made her way back to Neji, leaving him to contemplate her words with an angry scowl on his face.

Her brother scolded her for talking to the Uchiha but Kori just smiled and nodded and watched the flickering shades of green and red. They vaguely reminded her of Gaara who was still sitting right next to her. It was finally over. The rather large group parted with a few warm last words. Kori ended up heading home with her brother who made sure to apologize and thank Yui for coming with him. Gaara waited as his siblings said their goodbyes before heading back to their hotel room with a last look at his new friend. They each held warm memories of the day's events but the bad things always follow the good things. The day that would change their entire lives was awaiting them.


	27. Cheesy Lines and Failed Missions

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.**

* * *

"He's gone?!" Kori slammed her hand on the table in front of their new Hokage, "And you sent Shikamaru after them?!"

Tsunade slammed her hand more fiercely on the table, "That's right, you brat!"

"Six of us… This better not be some sort of war." Kai rubbed his stiff neck with a yawn, "I haven't even eaten yet."

"This is a really strange group though…" Toshizo grumbled, "Why would we go with the sand ninjas?"

"We're on your side this time. You don't have to worry about a thing!" Kankuro bragged, "Let's just hurry up and get on with it."

"Kori! Your mission is to bring back Lee, who's supposed to be resting after his surgery. You're in charge." Tsunade snapped, "Shikamaru has taken a group of five to bring Sasuke back already. Your mission is to bring back the guy who decided it was okay to ignore the doctor's orders!"

"Five?"

"Naruto, Kiba, Choji and Neji are out with him."

Kori's lips curled into a cruel smile, "Neji? Understood. I'll bring Lee back."

As soon as they had left the building, Kai let out a sigh, "You're not interested in bringing back Lee, are you?"

"I'll just look for Neji on the way." She took off running, "I don't see why we need six people to bring Lee back. She was practically asking me to look for Neji on the way."

"Kori-san." Toshizo scolded, "We shouldn't just assume things. What if she really meant go and bring Lee back ASAP?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Kankuro seemed to be the least strict out of the sand trio, "Let's just help everyone out."

"You just want to fight!" Temari snapped, "We're supposed to be rebuilding our good relationship. The Hokage isn't going to appreciate our bullshit."

"She can just deal with it." Kori snorted, her Byakugan searching for her brother rather than Lee, "She said they're headed for the border right? We just have to head straight there."

"There's a waterfall by the border!" Kai mentioned, "Just look for a waterfall and we'll probably find your brother."

"Water? I see a river! Does it lead up to the waterfall?"

"You're the one with the eyes. How should I know?"

"I found Kiba!" She hissed, "He needs help."

"I got it!" Kankuro was the first to volunteer, "Leave him to me!"

"You can't just go wild!" Temari growled.

"Toshizo! You're good at breaking up fights. I'll leave that guy to you." Kori called back.

"Eh?! Me?" The meek boy gulped, "Understood."

"Shikamaru's to the left…" Kori still couldn't find her brother. Had her group left the wrong exit?

"Hmm…" Temari smirked, "I can help him out."

"Saizo! Stick around. Help her out."

"Why me?" He groaned but changed direction anyways.

"I found him." Kori's eyes landed on Lee's rotating figure.

With a blast of speed, Gaara was in front of her, "How far?"

"There's a clearing a few meters ahead. He's fighting some kind of swordsman… Or… Oh my god. He's like a porcupine of bones."

Gaara seemed unfazed by her comments, easily lifting his arms to command his sand.

Lee seemed surprised to see them, "Kori-san and… Sabaku no Gaara!"

"We're here to take you back." Kori grinned down at him, "Let's go home."

"Are you ignoring me?" The porcupine growled.

"Kori-san. I think you should pay attention. Don't make him angry." Lee warned.

"Who?"

"I'm Kimimaro." The man growled, "Now get out of the way."

"I didn't ask who you were." She snorted, "I don't care either."

Kimimaro held his fingers up and something white came shooting out of his fingertips. Gaara's sand immediately rose to protect them, "You're too hasty. You, when you fought me before, you were faster and stronger."

Lee staggered to his feet, "I'm not holding any grudges but I've gone through a lot of trouble because of you."

"I see…"

"Why are you guys here anyway?"

"I just told you. We're taking you back to Konoha." Kori repeated, "Even if I have to get rid of this guy to do it."

"…" Gaara glanced at the girl and then at the staggering male, "I'll handle this."

"No." Lee decided firmly, "Please just support me."

Gaara's sand held the bushy-browed genin down when he attempted to move out front, "You can't do anything."

"Sabaku no Gaara." Kimimaro mused, "Just like your name states, you use sand to fight."

"His attacks are based on bones!" Lee warned, "He can use them any way he likes so watch out."

Kimimaro's eyes traveled lazily over the sand at the boy's feet and up to his face. He was obvious searching for a weakness in Gaara's sand defense but when he couldn't find one, Kimimaro hastily turned his eyes on the girl beside him. Gaara stepped to the side to block his vision of the girl, "Your opponent is me."

Kori knew right away. Gaara was strong. The Hyuga girl didn't take long to figure out that Kimimaro intended to aim for the weaker opponent first but Gaara cut him off. The redhead stood silently in front of her boldly declaring that Kimimaro's opponent was him. Gaara was like a wall which probably contradicts his size but his defense was impenetrable. Kimimaro let off another round of finger bones, unable to close the distance between them as Gaara attacked and defended at the same time, "How stupid. Your name is ridiculous. It implies that if you don't have sand you can't do anything."

Gaara didn't seem to mind the obvious insult as his sand fell around Kimimaro in pellets. He lifted his arm in a threatening manner, "…But if I have sand. I can do anything. It doesn't take much effort for me to take sand out of the ground."

The sand slithered up the enemy's legs to encase his entire lower half before spiraling around the rest of his body. Gaara clenched his fist and the sand around his opponent constricted causing a splatter of blood to drench the grass around the coffin of sand. A hand shot out from the confinements of the sand and then another as Kimimaro escaped from the prison. Parts of the Sound ninja's bones were showing and his skin was covered in intricate markings. Kori's eyes narrowed as she peeked around Gaara shoulder.

The redhead spoke, "Those bones…"

"It's weird." She could see the chakra that hardened his bones, "His chakra's consistent but his bones can do whatever he wants them to."

"I was taking you too lightly but this sand will never catch me again." Kimimaro declared, his eyes shooting to the girl peeking out from around his shoulders.

Gaara clapped his hands together in a fluid set of hand signs, "Ryuusa Bakuryu. (Desert Avalanche)"

The sand in front of him rose in a tidal wave and came crashing down on Kimimaro with the force of a tsunami, changing the landscape from a meadow to a sandy desert with the tops of tree barely poking out of the sand. A hand shot out from the sand and like a zombie returning from his grave, Kimimaro was back.

Lee sighed, "He's persistent isn't he?"

Suddenly he had grown a tail. Kimimaro's appearance had changed drastically once again and although bones were protruding from his backside again, he resembled a bony dragon rather than a porcupine with that strange tail sticking out. Gaara shoved his hands forward in an attempt to catch him but Kimimaro's speed had gone up. Gaara's usually impenetrable wall of sand came up just in time to make an attempt at stopping Kimimaro. Kori barely managed to pull the sand shinobi out of the way as Kimimaro barreled straight through the thin wall Gaara had put up. Kimimaro turned his attack on Lee but Gaara's sand came up to protect him too.

The bony male glared, "You're annoying me. I'll have to kill you first."

He ducked his head down and pulled out what looked like his spinal cord. Kori cringed at the sight of it. Gaara stood in front of her almost protectively as Kimimaro swung the spinal cord at them. She thought he had missed but hissed when it came around like a whip to attack them from behind. Gaara's sand shield had already instinctively come up to protect them but the bone slammed into it with so much force they were forced together. Gaara spun quickly and pulled her in front of him putting his sand wall and gourd between Kimimaro's spine whip and their flesh. In a whip-like motion the spinal cord spiraled around them, constricting them together from around Gaara's sand barrier. The position might have been pleasurable if the sand wasn't so tight around them.

Her arms barely managed to come together in a few signs through the solid yet soft sand around them, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

The spine snapped in two from the pressure of her most familiar technique and the two shinobi were free. Gaara instantly took his position in front of her to take the next attack, "Saikyo Zettai Bougyo: Shukaku no Tate! (Supreme Absolute Defense: Shukaku's Shield)"

Another set of hand signs led to the quicksand pit below them. Kimimaro sank into the ground barely struggling. A forest of bones sprouted from the patch of sand. All three genin were suspended in the air by Gaara's sand. A light sheen of sweat covered Gaara's brow.

Lee gulped, "You're amazing. You even saved me."

"I've always been able to use the sand this way. It's a simple task." Gaara was humble despite his great strength, "He was stubborn but this is the end."

Kori glanced up at him with the intention of throwing him a few compliments but what she saw had her in a panic. She pulled him toward her as Kimimaro's boney arm swung forward to drill a hole in the back of Gaara's head, "Shit!"

They had nowhere to go on the little platform of sand that Gaara had provided. Her eyes squeezed shut, clenching Gaara's head tightly. Gaara felt his heart skip a beat at the sudden danger that had snuck up on him… Or so he thought. There was the slightly possibility that he was embarrassed or enjoying the feeling of human contact. It wasn't every day that he was in someone's arms. He actually couldn't remember ever being held by someone, not even his family.

Lee's shaky voice busily gathered his thoughts for him, "Kori-san, look… He's dead…"

Gaara felt the girl's arms shakily release him and he glanced behind him to see the unmoving body of his enemy. His sand was starting to dribble to the ground below them as his chakra began to run dry. It took some effort for him to move them away from the forest of spiky bones and to the safe grass before putting them down. He tugged his gourd from his torso as Lee collapsed to the ground exhausted. Kori leaned comfortably against a wide tree and scooted to the side to make room for Gaara.

He sat in a comfortable position, "That was a complete loss."

"Not true. Gai-sensei always says that luck is a part of skill too." Lee announced.

"That busy-body." Gaara spoke indifferently despite the obvious insult he was making.

"He's not a busy-body!" Lee quickly defended his teacher, "Stop talking that way about Gai-sensei!"

"You too…" Gaara seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else, "When someone insults someone important to you, you become enraged. He… Was the same as Uzumaki Naruto. Only, the person that's important to you isn't always good."

"You don't have to take someone bad as your important person." Lee said.

"No. Even if you know they're bad, you cannot defeat the loneliness."

"…"

"You don't have to defeat the loneliness. That's what friends are for." Kori hummed, "Don't you think?"

"That's true." Lee smiled at the thought of his own allies who helped him come this far.

"… I wouldn't know…"

Kori noticed that Gaara had a lot of facial expressions for someone who didn't have any eyebrows, "Hmm… Are you lonely?"

"…"

She couldn't help but smile. He hadn't verbally answered her but his face spoke volumes. She offered him a hand, "Show me how to defeat the loneliness for you."

His eyes widened and his lips tightened into a line as he took her hand, "… I don't know how…"

"I'll figure it out slowly." She grinned. She had just said the cheesiest lines ever and she was aware of it but judging by the look on Gaara's face, he had never heard any friendly lines before.

"Why…?"

"Aren't we friends?" She laughed, "I just said friends defeat the loneliness for you so I should do my job."

"…" He squeezed her hand tightly but only for a moment. He was afraid to hurt her. She wanted to be his friend. His heart felt warmed by the girl's words. Uzumaki Naruto also made it clear that he understood Gaara and that made them friends despite what he had done but it wasn't the same. He remembered what it felt like when Naruto had made his understanding clear but it wasn't the same when she said it. Was it because she was a girl? The Shukaku's voice roared with laughter inside his head, "**The blood always tastes better when it's the blood of someone you're attached to! Some jinchuriki! You fall for girls real fast, huh? Gahahah! Just let me have a taste of her blood!**"

"_I won't let it happen._" He swore.

* * *

Kai sighed, "Women."

Temari had effectively leveled the entire forest in search of the enemy. Shikamaru seemed to be satisfied with the fact that the woman had a wide range and a strange defensive form of offence. Kai found himself without anything to do. Temari was a strong woman. He made a note that Kori was stronger but Temari was probably more competent than any of the female genin in Konoha, with the exception of his crush. Wishing he was the one saving Shikamaru without the help of Temari. He didn't want to go home. He wanted this mission to take forever. That crazy actress was the one waiting for him when he got home at the end of every day. He didn't want to marry her but he wanted to be the next head of the clan no matter what. He desperately wanted to marry Kori at this point. It was a terrible thing to say at his age but if he was going to marry in a few years he wanted to be able to pick and choose who he married. He was miserable.

Honestly, Kai had no idea what he was doing there. He just knew that by the time he stopped pitying himself, Temari was finished and they were about ready to head back. A group of medics had caught up to them and the head medic was busily questioning Shikamaru. Kai vaguely heard that Choji was in critical condition but his ears perked up when the medic mentioned Neji was on the doorstep to death. Kori would not be happy to hear that one. Maybe he would have to put on a raincoat and let her pour all her tears out. Hopefully not, but he wouldn't mind doing it for her. The hospital is not a good place to see anyone but the hospital with a whole bunch of crying people was probably a better place than his house.

He was vaguely aware that Toshizo greeted him when they met up at the village gates but he couldn't remember whether he answered or not. He only remembered the sight of her smiling face as she returned. The Hyuga held up a hand as a greeting, "Mission accomplished!"

"Finally." Kai snorted.

She shot him a glare, "And Shikamaru?"

"Went straight to the hospital." He bit his lip, "We should go too."

"Eh? Why?" She tilted her head to the side.

Gaara cut in, catching on fast, "Lee is supposed to be returned to his resting room."

The hospital was a terrible place for everyone. Tsunade scolded Lee for a while and then mumbled something about not having time for them and stomping off to do something important.

Hinata stood in front of her cousin only a split second later with a surprisingly determined look on her face, "Kori-chan…"

"Hinata-sama." The younger Hyuga bowed slightly.

"Umm… I-I have bad news… Kori-chan, Kiba-kun is in the hospital with grave injuries." Hinata was a bad messenger.

Kori glared at the silvery blond behind her, "Is that what you were getting at?"

"U-Umm… Kori-chan. One more…" Hinata's voice died down and her eyes shifted all over the place.

"What? It can't be worse than that." Kori rolled her eyes.

Gaara's hand clenched her shoulder gently, "Did you see your brother on the way back?"

"Surprisingly, no. I guess my eyes are getting bad." She sighed, "Did you?"

"Uhh… U-Ummm…. He's in the emergency room." Hinata squeaked, "I'm sorry."

"…" The girl shook her head, "That wasn't a funny joke, Hinata-sama."

"Kori-san…" Toshizo made a feeble attempt at comforting her, "He'll be alright."

"What are you talking about? Of course he's going to be alright. This is your cruel idea of a joke isn't it?" Her hand clenched into a tight fist, "There's no way Neji would be in the emergency room! He was just fine this morning!"

"Hinata-san wouldn't joke like that." Toshizo said softly.

"Shikamaru! I'll ask Shikamaru!"

"He's o-over that way." Hinata squeaked, "Bu-But he didn't look like he wanted to talk to anyone."

But the youngest genin wasn't listening. She marched right up the stairs and as soon as she spotted Shikamaru she was interrogating him, "Where's Neji?"

He shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"No way." She scanned him over and only notice a splint on one of his fingers, "Neji's in the emergency room and you've got one broken finger?"

"I'm sorry." He repeated, "I'm so sorry."

She cracked a smile, "Then you really are amazing, Shikamaru. Your next mission will be better."

He shook his head, "I'm sorry. So don't look at me like that."

Shikamaru knew better than to trust a woman's outer appearance. The girl was obviously faking a smile. She probably hated him for leading her only brother on a mission that landed him in the emergency room.

Her lips immediately moved downwards in a frown, "… Next time, I'll protect him. So stop apologizing. It's not your fault."

"… You don't have to force yourself to forgive me. I know how much you love him."

"If he lives… I'm going to tell him I love him a thousand times… If not… I won't forgive you even if it's not your fault." Her lips twitched in an attempt to smile, "You have it hard, Shikamaru. But it wasn't your fault. The reinforcements should have been sent faster. You're an amazing person."

He finally looked up at her and she noticed how tired he looked, "Thank you. If he doesn't make it…. I'll take responsibility somehow…"

"…" They both knew that there was no way to take responsibility for someone's death. A life for a life. Shikamaru would have to die if he wanted to take responsibility. The shinobi world is cruel and today was the day a majority of them found out for the first time.

* * *

**The first part is coming to and end in a few chapters. If I continue on and write the Shippuden part it probably wouldn't be until the actual Naruto series is finished. I'm still debating on whether or not to separate the Shippuden part from this part or not but we'll just have to wait and see. I'm waiting for an epic ending from Kishimoto! XD**


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